Lost and Found ALNM
by PhantomChajo
Summary: **New: Chap 20 & 21.** A stranger has come to the attention of Shin-Ra and the TURKS. Is it an old friend, an enemy or something else entirely? With permission from Faestian to play in her sandbox. OC TURKs belong to her, other OCs are mine, everything else is Square's
1. Chapter 1

Lost & Found

by PhantomChajo

**~1~**

Even though it was approaching the beginning of spring, the air still held the chill bite of the past winter. No one had completely abandoned their heavy coats, scarves and hats for clothing more appropriate for warmer weather, they just didn't bundle up as much. Patches of frost and snow still clung tenaciously to the ground, especially in areas where the sunlight infrequently visited. At the moment though in the center of the city, the sun shown down heating the pavement to a pleasant temperature. All the roads leading to the center had been blockaded, traffic detoured around thus taking longer to reach one's destination though sometimes it did shorten it. And where vehicles once traversed unchallenged tents now claimed the roadway with large generators were chugging away to produce electricity for said tents at strategic points around the outer circle.

Most but not all of the tents sported the Shin-Ra logo in some form or fashion. The most popular area was the mess tents where free lunches and drinks were being served. The medical tent was somewhat popular with the free health checks and inoculations being offered as well as the blood drive in progress. Children tended to flock towards the two parked Shin-Ra helicopters on display while teens, male and female alike, ogled the blue-suited hotties standing guard on the helicopters and several more important tents. Everyone else smiled or nodded politely to the roaming TURKs as they surreptitiously patrolled the event. It those who didn't want to be noticed by said blue-suited individuals that stood out like a sore pecker in a whore house, that were silently and stealthily marked as potential troublemakers. The more experienced ones double checking the lesser experienced ones picks. For every obvious TURK there was one that wasn't seen. Those wearing everyday normal street clothes mingling with the crowds.

From within one of the tents, Reeve let out a sigh and dropped his hand allowing the flap to close once more. "Really Rufus do you have to have so many of your people out there?" the older man asked as he turned around. Though wearing a suite of similar color blue, the style and cut was obviously different. Tilting his head to the side slightly, he studied the younger man for several moments before his eyes shifted to the youth sitting next to him. It was undeniable that the two were related, even though the younger had a softer look to him compared to the elder.

The older of the two blonds sat back, crossing his leg over his knee and propping his chin on a fist as he did. He studied the older man in return for several moments before shifting so that his hands were now clasp across his lap. "The reasons are many fold, but overall it has kept any unrest at a minimum, has it not? Families unafraid of letting their children out of their sight. Teens behaving themselves for a change instead of getting into trouble as teens are known to do. And those that are looking for employment are being courted by companies large and small."

Reeve rolled his eyes as he sat down once more across from Rufus. "You mean Shin-Ra is courting the people once more."

"Hardly Reeve," Rufus replied. "We have almost every department at max in regards to staffing. Those areas that are not fully staffed are rather particular about who is accepted for what position and I've learned," he ignored the soft snort, "to trust the department heads and their choice of requirements." He lifted a hand and waved in the general direction of the recruiting tents. "What you see out there are independent companies."

The older man was still not completely convinced about it all, but he wisely kept his mouth shut for the moment. He accepted the cup of tea offered to him by Tseng, sat back and sipped the herbal drink. There were several hours left before the two of them were scheduled to make an appearance, give a speech and do the drawing for charity raffles going on. He huffed softly at the thought of Rufus Shinra and charity in the same sentence.

Rufus arched a blond eyebrow in silent question at Reeve's huff and received a shake of the head in return.

"Sir?"

"Yes Titus?" Rufus replied back.

"May I go outside now?" the young man asked sliding back away from the table slightly, the plate in front of him held only crumbs.

Rufus tilted his head to the side glancing at Tseng a moment. "Tseng?"

The Wutain TURK in turned to check the status of the event. With a practiced eye he could tell that there were no security concerns at this moment. Turning back to the director he nodded.

"You may go Titus, but be back here in 90 minutes. I would prefer you here instead of trying to make your way back though the crowds."

The youth smiled brightly. "Thank you sir," he said before standing up and giving a polite bow to his brother as well as Reeve. "Mr. Tuesti, it was a pleasure to meet you and if I don't see you before you leave, have a pleasant day." AS he turned to go, he snapped his fingers and a dark shadow stood up from the corner of the tent. The shadow turned out to be a large mongrel dog that was exceptionally well behaved and obedient. "Come. Stay close to me Silly," he said as the tent flap closed behind him.

"Silly?" Reeve asked as he turned back to Rufus.

"It is the name Titus choose," Rufus said with a shrug.

"Where did he get that beast?" Reeve asked with a chuckle. He silently swore that the last time he'd seen a four footed friendly creature that big was when he last talked to Naniki.

The blond accepted the cup of coffee and took a sip before answering. "Reno found him as a pup a few years back. Thought Titus needed cheering up at the time and took it to him. Needless to say," he shrugged again not needing to finish the sentence. "What he lacks on the outside, he more then makes up with his loyalty and dedication to Titus."

Reeve nodded in understanding. "Even though felines are my preference, have you had any thought on breeding that monster? If the qualities of the sire can be passed to the offspring...Size and loyalty to its owner. Very desirable in guard beasts."

"Silly belongs to Titus and it is his choice on whether or not to allow the mutt to play stud to any bitch offered him," Rufus said with a slight curl to his lips. "Besides, there are several highly qualified and reputable breeders in a range of beasts. From guard to companionship. Titus has not expressed any desire to enter that field."

The older man nodded again. "Well if he does, I'd like to see the pups before they are gone."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"The speech, Shachou," Tseng said setting a folder along with a pen on the table in front of Rufus.

-

Across the way at mess tents, a group of teens and adults had claimed one table for themselves. There was laughter intermingled with general conversations. The group seemed mismatched even though all but one wore jackets with the same design painted across the back. The oldest sat at the very end of the table, his battered and much abused wheelchair pulled up as close as possible as he sat with chin propped on his hand. Next to him on his left sat a woman of roughly the same age and next to her sat a young child of barely 10 years. Across from those two sat a couple, the young woman quite obviously pregnant the young man fawning over the mother to be. Scattered down the benches on either side were a mix of teens between 13 and 17 years of age. The oddball was the person sitting at the opposite end of the wheelchair bound man.

A few tables away but within direct view, a large dark skinned man sat. A stocking cap covered his head, pulled low over his forehead. A battered pair of shades perched on his face covering eyes that continued to scan the gathered people before returning to the one table. He reached up to scratch at the scraggly beard that covered the lower half of his face. Rude couldn't wait to get done with this assignment so he could shave the irritating hair off. Ever so often he would lift the cup and 'take a sip'. In truth he was reporting in. "No change, target has not moved since arriving."

The individual in question wore an great coat made of some dark material with a high fur-lined collar. A pair of old style glasses perched on their face, the lenses nearly black and the sides shielded and their hair was hanging loosely about their face. From the roots, dark reddish colored hair for several inches before it turned black. Sitting hunched over nursing a bottle of water and a silver-headed cane was propped against the table next to the person.

"Scratch that, we have movement," Rude muttered into the cup.

The group seemed to be gathering up trash and preparing to depart. Most of the teens had already vanished into the crowds, the younger couple were slowly strolling out of the tent together. The wheelchair bound man rolled himself back as the child scrambled around the table to claim a seat in his lap. The person at the opposite end slowly got this their feet, using the cane as temporary support.

Rude was in a perfect location as the older woman walked by him to deposit the trash into the bin before turning around so he heard what she was saying and it was easily relayed.

"We got 20 minutes to get Jamie over to the med tent for the appointment with the doctor there. With the way you two meander we might get there on time..." the rest trailed off as they disappeared from the tent.


	2. Chapter 2

**~2~**

It took less then 10 minutes to get to the med tent and that was with taking their time navigating around a few groups that just would not move. The inside of the tent was divided up into sections, the center closes to the entrance was the waiting area then next to it was the 'reception' and triage area. The rest was closed off with temporary cloth walls so that there was some privacy. The quartet managed to find a trio of empty seats right on the end."Alright you two, guard duty till I get back," the woman said as she pointed to the boy before she walked away to speak with the nurse on duty at the reception desk.

"Are you positive she's not military?" the person in the great coat asked.

"I Heard That Fox."

The wheelchair bound man let out a gruff laugh as he settled back keeping an eye on the child in question. "Nope, but damned if she and her mother didn't scare the ever loving piss out of my drill Sergeant when he came home with me one time before the war. Sarge didn't believe what I told him."

Fox held up his hands in surrender before dropping them down to rest on the head of the cane, a moment later he hunched forward to lay his head on top of his hands. Between the high collar, the sleeves and his hair, it effectively hide his face though it did nothing to disguise the shaking of his body as he muffled his coughing.

"Damn it Fox, get someone to see about that cough of yours while we're here!"

Lifting his head slightly he waved a hand in a negative motion. "No Frank, it'll go away on it's own. I'm not going to be poked and prodded by any bloody doctor."

By this time the woman had joined the trio of males, "You've been saying that since the day you showed up at our door and it has yet to go away like you claim. You need to have someone take a look at you Fox."

"No."

"Can't you talk some sense into him Frank?"

"Don't look at me Maggie, the boy is just as stubborn as you are when it comes to certain things," Frank replied with a shrug.

As the adults talked amongst themselves the child, Jamie decided that to explore the area was more interesting. Reaching up he scrubbed a hand across the side of his head, dislodging the headphones as he snuck away. Every few steps he would stop and look over a shoulder then take a few more steps. Soon enough he was standing next to the entrance staring out at the passing people. Grinning he looked up at the person standing next to the entrance before turning around with a giggle to continue exploring.

The TURK on duty looked down and blinked before taking a second look at the retreating child. He was professional enough not to gawk at the child's odd physical looks at least. Shaking his head he scanned the area spotting the adults that came in with the child. The one wearing the great coat had his head up and was watching the child as well. Satisfied he went back to keeping an eye on things just outside of the tent. He stood straighter the moment he spotted an approaching figure. There was little to no doubt that the young man in front of him was related to the Director. He nodded a greeting and received an equally polite wave in return even though he didn't expect one.

The young blond looked around after stopping just inside the tent to allow his eyes to adjust to the change in light. Once he could see again he headed towards the receptionist desk to ask for Claudia, Silly padding along silently next to him. He learned to suppress his instinctive reaction of ducking his head and making himself seem insignificant. Instead he kept a polite smile on his face, his chin held high, and willingly looked everyone eye to eye. Four years of freedom barely put a dent in the 13 years of conditioning but it went a long way towards the future.

"How may I help... Oh, sir good afternoon," the nurse on duty greeted the young blond with a friendly smile.

"Good afternoon, is Claudia available? I would like to speak with her if I may," Titus said.

The nurse looked down at a laptop and the appointment list then back up. "She's still in with her last appointment and her next one is here already, but there should be a few minutes between the two. Give me a moment and I'll let her know," she said locking the laptop then standing up.

"Thank you," Titus replied then turned to look out past the chairs to the crowds beyond. His bodyguard had taken up position next to the TURK on duty giving him the privacy to speak with the buxom medic (who happened to be a very high ranking TURK as well). A deep sigh as he let himself be distracted by fantasies and daydreams of being a nobody caused him to miss the subtle warnings Silly was giving off.

The child was squealing with laughter, a toy clutched in one hand as he dashed haphazardly across the tent from one side of the waiting area to the other where his guardians and his favorite person sat. The sight of the large dog was to him a delightful surprise so he changed course towards the large animal.

By the time Titus did notice Silly's warning growls, it was too late to do anything except make a desperate grab for his collar as the mutt lunged at the child. He felt the sickening twist then snap as his first two fingers were broken and dislocated at the same time.

At the same instant that the dog lunged at Jamie, Fox was out of his seat and had grabbed the back of the boy's clothes, jerking him out of harms way. With the boy held by one hand he was able to grasp the dog's muzzle stopping the large mutt without doing it or him much harm. Or so it seemed that way to anyone watching.

Titus gasped in pain, hearing the soft sound of the command 'Stop' uttered over the sudden roar of blood in his ears. His blue eyes widened as he looked down, time felt like it was slowing to a stop as a long fingered hand took his injured one. He heard the sound of the person speaking but couldn't make out the words themselves. A flare of pain from his hand followed by soothing, cooling warmth which rolled up his arm caused him to gasp once more. When he blinked he found his, now uninjured hand curled securely around Silly's collar and the man standing a few feet away, the child secure in his arms and still laughing as if nothing happened. Lifting his eyes he saw the enigmatic curl of the man's lips before a hand was lifted muffle the throat tearing cough. A strange glimmer of green and yellow vanished into the shadows of a dark sleeve as the man turned away to give the child over to the older woman.

"Titus!"

The youth turned his head in the direction of the voice, blinking as if waking from a sleep. "Huh? Oh, Claudia..."

"Are you alright Titus?" the head medic/TURK asked.

He looked down a moment, tugging on the mutt's collar with a silent command to sit. Flexing his fingers, he felt no pain or any other sensation except for the lingering cool warmth ofanother's touch. "Yes," he said then looked up and smiled. "Yes, I'm fine."


	3. Chapter 3

**~3~**

Claudia was not convinced that Titus was fine but for the moment there were more pressing concerns, like the use of materia which had been banned almost 8 years earlier. How in Shiva's name someone had kept said materia active and how to apprehend said person without causing a scene followed right along behind the first. Setting those to the back burner in her mind she addressed the issues at hand this instant instead. Taking the youth's hand she still insisted on a quick exam of his hand. Satisfied that he had full flexibility in the fingers, she let go of his hand. "I want to look at your hand again this evening young man, once we get back to the compound." It was Not a request.

"Yes ma'am." Titus looked away with a sigh of defeat, when Claudia set her mind to something there was no use trying to get away from her.

"Good boy," Claudia said with a smile patting him on the shoulder before turning to the quartet. Even without examining him, she could tell the man coughing was in dire need of medical attention. If it wasn't a nasty case of walking pneumonia she'd eat her med-kit. A figure at the entrance caught her eye for a moment. With a subtle movements she passed the message on to the big guy as she crossed the distance to the group.

Outside the tent, Rude nodded once that he got the message before stepping back out of sight of those inside. Like Claudia he had felt the use of materia, it was something one never truly forgot. Reaching into an inner pocket of the old coat he was wearing, he pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial for Tseng.

"Report Rude." Tseng knew the big TURK wouldn't blow his cover unless there was a situation.

Rude glanced at the entrance then moved around the side of the tent where he could still see everything without being spotted himself. "Possible situation at the med tent. Unknown person possessing and using materia. Claudia is aware and getting more Intel."

Tseng glanced at the table where Rufus and Reeve were still going over last minute changes in the speeches. He moved away from the two to practically hover over the TURKs that were monitoring security videos and checks. With a gesture, he took control of one of the laptops. "Titus?"

"He's safe at the moment even though he was part of the incident which sparked this little issue," Rude said.

The Wutain TURK frowned at that news but continued what he was doing. "Describe the suspect," he ordered.

"Tall, my height or about. Wearing a great coat of dark material with a high fur collar. Wearing old fashioned shades. Dark hair though it is possible it has been dyed. Has a nasty sounding cough as well," Rude replied.

"Hnn," Tseng muttered as he found what he was looking for. "Follow and try to get the person away from the crowds for apprehension."

"Yes sir."

Tseng disconnected the call, dropping his phone into it's customary pocket before giving control of the computer back to it's original operator. "Have the video feed from the time the person entered the tent to the time they leave sent to Elena. I want her to run image scans for any possible matches. Also get stills and pass them to everyone. The suspect is to be subtly herded towards this point," tapping the place between several tents where there was little to no civilian traffic. "Be explicit in the detail that the suspect is to be considered armed and dangerous."

The TURK nodded, fingers flying across the keyboard passing the message though the text broadcast directly to all phones in the network. A moment later the images were sent out. "Done sir."

"Good," Tseng replied absently as he turned and came face to face with Rufus, whom he might add did not look pleased.

"And just when were you going to inform me about this?" Rufus asked over politely with a tight smile.

When it came to anything that involved Titus, Rufus was worse then a over-protective mother chocobo. Not that he could blame the man since he knew where the younger ShinRa came from and how he grew up. "Once the situation was taken care of. Everything is being handled Shachou."

The director narrowed his eyes in a look that promised they would talk about this later. "I see. I want Titus back here asap."

Indeed they would need to talk later about this. "Yes Shachou," Tseng said with a bow. "Reno."

"Yo!" came the reply followed by a soft snickering. The red-head held up his hands at the rather pointed glare he received from both Tseng and Rufus. "Alright alright! I'll go get the runt." He stuck his hands in the pockets of his pants as he strolled out of the tent. "Come on Morgan,Yo. Let's go get the chick before Mama Chocobo in there gets his feathers riled up to much."

Reeve coughed politely into his hand as he stood up. "Well gentlemen, unless I'm needed here right now I think I'm going to go see how the raffle is coming along." And like his feline alter ego he exited the tent rather quickly.

-

"Are you two alright? Did either of you get bit?" Claudia asked as she walked up to the group. Her eyes stopping on the child's face for several moments before the man's coughing snatched her attention away. He sat hunched over as he fought for his breath between bouts of coughing. She squatted down in front of him, a tissue in hand already as she brought her hands up to cup his face.

Fox had his eyes closed so he didn't realize the person touching him wasn't Maggie. All he felt was cool hands against fevered flesh and soft material dabbing away at the corner of his mouth. The vile coppery taste/smell of blood pervading his senses distracting and disorientating him at the same time. It was when he felt those hands start to slide his shades down that he opened his eyes, hands flashing up to grasp wrists tightly to stop the movement.

The fingers wrapped tightly about her wrists were stronger then they looked. Kinda like Reno she decided as she stared into eyes so pale green they the looked almost white. "Honeydew," she said softly as she watched pupils expand and contact down to pinpoints before expanding again. "Hey," Claudia spoke louder this time. "You really need to get to a hospital sweetheart. Your sick and your not doing anyone any bit of good by refusing to go."

His eyes vanished behind near black lenses as he ducked his head forcing the glasses to once more cover them. He licked his suddenly dry lips, painting them dark red from his own blood. "No," Fox rasped in reply, her wrists still within his grasp.

"OK, then if not a hospital would you at least let me look you over?" The buxom golden redhead mentally cursed as she came to the conclusion she'd said the wrong thing at the wrong time but she continued on anyways. "Get you something to ease that cough of yours at least? Maybe something to reduce the fever you have and let you rest."

"No," he said more forcefully as he shoved her hands away from him. Fox was able to grab his cane and was half way to the door when someone stepped though the entrance.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here, yo?"


	4. Chapter 4

**~4~**

Reno stood in the entrance way, his EMR was fully extended and he was tapping it against his shoulder while his other hand was hidden in a pocket, behind him Morgan stood with arms crossed over his chest. His eyes took in everything but gave nothing away. From the fact Claudia was picking herself up off the ground, dusting off the seat of her pants to Titus standing at the counter staring at the mystery man to the two TURKs frozen on either side of the entrance. "Well?" he asked again. "Anyone want to tell me what's going on, yo," he tilted his chin up nodding in Claudia's direction then tilting it towards Titus.

"Why nothing at all Reno. Just a bit of hospital jitters," she said with a smile. She glanced at both Maggie and Frank then looked at Jamie. "Shall we head on back?"

Frank shook his head. "I'll stay here. No need for me to head back there. Just gonna be in the way with this thing," he explained as his hand patted one arm of the wheelchair. He then jerked a thumb in Fox's direction. "Good kid, just more then a bit gun shy though."

"It's my fault Reno," Titus spoke up finally. "I was... daydreaming and not paying attention to Silly." The youth looked down at his feet as he nibbled on his lower lip, clearly embarrassed to be the cause of any problems.

Jamie took the awkward silence as a cue to speak up. "Puppy!" he cried out with a giggling laugh, arms reaching towards the large mutt by the young man's side. "Puppy! Puppy! Puppy!"

"Shush Jamie," Maggie said trying to grab the child's arms or at least keep him settled on her hip without falling. "The puppy can't play with you right now." She looked over with an apologetic smile for Titus. "Sorry, he gets a little hyper when he sees animals. He doesn't really understand he can't just run up to play with them."

"He doesn't hear you Maggie," Fox rasped softly from where he stood, eyes darting between Reno, Morgan and the small headphones laying on the ground not far from where the redheaded TURK stood. Though he wanted to pick them up and give them back to Jamie but he didn't want to get close to the TURKs either. "He doesn't have his ears on."

Maggie let out a tired sigh. "One of these days I swear I'm gonna find something that you can't take off, pull off or knock off your head." With mock growl she shook a fist at the boy before reaching up and ruffling his hair causing him to laugh again. "Runt."

Morgan stepped past Reno on his right hand side (thus allowing him to keep an eye on the suspect) to retrieve the headphones. "These?" he asked standing up straight again, the small headphones looking tiny in his hand. When he received a positive response he continued around the chairs to the group, giving Titus a nod in greeting as he did. The big blond pilot stopped an arms length away from the two and waited for the child to look at him instead of possibly scaring him. Once the boy turned to look at him he smiled and waved. "Hey kiddo, loose something?" he asked holding out the headphone.

"Thank you," Maggie said shifting Jamie so he could take the small device himself.

Jamie took the headphones with a shy smile then turned and hid his head against Maggie's shoulder a moment. He turned the other way holding out the headphones to Fox then brought them up to his head before holding them out again.

The older woman rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Fine, you want Fox to put them on you then you have to ask him Runt," she told him then set him down on the ground.

Reno shifted his weight, dropping the EMR from his shoulder to tap against his leg. He watched as the suspect, Fox, shifted his weight as well. More often then not people would relax when he shifted his stance but not this fellow, this one was a trained fighter. How good of a fighter had yet to be tested. Maybe he could convince Tseng to let him and Rude go after this guy.

If Fox hadn't know Jamie was coming to him he probably would have lashed out in a startled reaction as soon as the child grabbed a handful of his coat and tugged. The TURKs put him on edge. Ifrit's Hell! The crowds outside the tent put him on edge, the TURKs just made it worse! Forcefully he took his eyes off the redhead and knelt down plucking the headphones out of Jamie's hand as he did so. Setting the cane down on the ground (but within easy reach) he used both hands to put the headphones back in proper position on the boy's head.

"Jamie," Frank call.

Jamie turned in the wheelchair bound man's direction, head tilted to the side questioningly.

"Nothing Runt," Frank said with a chuckle. "He's good to go again."

"Jamie," Fox said in a voice that was nearly gone. Once he had the child's attention he continued. "Not puppy," he said pointing in Silly's direction. "Grr Doggie," he explained curling his lips up in a snarl. "Grrrrr Doggie," he said again, growling the first part.

Jamie looked back and forth between Fox and the mutt for a moment before nodding. "Grr doggie, not puppy," he repeated. Turning he pointed out different people and objects. "Mama, Chair, Papa, Grr doggie, Stick, Fox, yellow Stranger, Yellow Stranger, Red Stranger, Pretty Lady, Fox! Grr Doggie, not puppy." Turning back around he faced the kneeling man, tilting his head to the side once more, this time in thought before reaching out with both hands and putting them on either side of Fox's face. "Fox sick," he said leaning forward to peck Fox's forehead. "Kiss make better."

'If it was so easy,' Fox thought to himself letting out a sigh a soft smile crossing his expression for a moment as he closed his eyes behind the glasses. "Get going Runt," he grumbled quietly as he picked the cane up and used it to stand up again. As soon as he was up he wiped all expression from his face, tensing up again as he watched the two TURKs by the entrance come out of the status effect.

"Stand down," Reno ordered before either moved more then a step.

Morgan nodded politely to everyone then turned to Titus, "Come on kiddo, play time is up. Rufus wants you back at the main tent."

Titus jerked his head up, blue eyes narrowing in confusion. "But.. why? He told me I had an hour and a half until I had to be back."

"No clue why the change, you'll just have to ask him when you see him."

"But.."

"Titus," Reno barked sharply. "Ask Rufus when you get there."

"No."

Reno took his attention off Fox and put it on Titus. "No?"

A look of sudden teenage rebellion crossed the young ShinRa's face. "No. I'm staying here until my time is up."

Reno rolled his eyes, dragging a hand down his face then back up though his hair. "Of all the times... Morgan," he gestured to the youth then jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Let's go."

And with that Morgan knew what he had to do. "Sorry kiddo," he said before picking Titus up and throwing him over his shoulder, one arm securing the kicking legs against his chest.

"Silly!" Titus cried out still surprised at being manhandled. In public no less. "Batsu!" he ordered slapping a hand against Morgan's back.

"Tawainai! Hou gechi. Hi-ru," Reno countered Titus's order for the mutt, snapping his fingers as he did.

The mutt whined for a moment before slinking past Morgan, looking up almost apologetically at his young master thrown over the bigger human's shoulder. From there he trotted over to sit beside the redheaded human.

"Traitor," Titus muttered angrily.

"Hey Claudia, got a back door to this place?" Reno asked.

"Yeah, go though the back silly boy," Claudia pointed over her shoulder with a roll of her eyes.

"Thanks pretty lady, yo," he replied cheekily before snapping his fingers "Hou," he ordered to the mutt as he headed around the chairs, purposly past Fox and the others. "Sorry folks about this, but it would be in everyone's best interest not to mention anything that has happened here today." Reno then tossed off a sloppy two fingered salute before both he and Morgan vanished though the back.

Claudia took a deep breath then let it out in a gusty sigh. "Well that was fun. Now back to what we were doing," she said holding out her hand for Jamie if he wanted to take it. She smiled at the boy when he did. "Shall we?" she asked

Maggie nodded and followed the woman and boy back to the exam area.

"Fox?" Frank asked once the ladies were out of site.

"Yes?"

"Just... just be careful and try not to get into trouble OK?" The only sound in the waiting area was the crowds outside the tent. When Frank looked over his shoulder, Fox was no where to be seen, one of the TURKS was gone, and the other staring out the entrance. The older man just sighed then fished out a sudoku puzzle book and a pen, settling down to wait.


	5. Chapter 5

**~5~**

Claudia led the two back to one of the larger exam 'rooms' in the tent. Inside was a bed covered in the ubiquitous white sheet, a cart with the standard items found in an exam room along with a bio-hazard trashcan, a stool and a chair. "Have a seat," Claudia said pointing to the chair for Maggie. As for Jamie she smiled and offered to lift him up to the bed. "And you young man, get to sit on the bed. Need a hand?" she asked. With ease she lifted the child up onto the bed. "Now let's have a good look at you sweetie."

Maggie smiled a tired but true smile. "You've never seen anyone with his condition before have you?" she asked.

"Can I have these a moment?" Claudia asked. When she received a nod, she carefully slid the headphones off the boy's head. She was both careful and gentle as she started her exam. Running fingers up the underside of his jaw, noting how far back it was receded in comparison to the rest of his face. Tracing back to where his ears should have been she found just a hint of a shell, with openings to the aural channels. From there she brought her fingers back up and around following the contoured path of oddly slanted eye ridges then down a concave nasal area to the cleft lips. "Honestly? No. But I've heard of it , Treacher Collins Syndrome, and to those less informed or educated it has been nicknamed Monster syndrome because of deformities of the facial structure. Am I right?" As she spoke she looked at Jamie and smiled.

"Yes."

"I won't lie to you. Most of what I heard on it was usually post mortem autopsies reports on children under 16 years of age, from less then qualified morticians. Strictly from a medical viewpoint, I would love to have him as a case study. To find out if this is a genetic birth defect that can be inherited or if it's a sudden mutation of the genes. And yes at one time this company had people that wouldn't give a rat's ass about what you or anyone else had to say about it." Turning Claudia rested a hip against the bed as she ran her fingers though the surprisingly thick head of light brown hair. "But we're not like that anymore and I hope we never become like that again." She held up her hand to forestall any words from the older woman. "And I'm sure this is not why your here to have him looked at, right?"

"Right you are," Maggie nodded. "For the past month Jamie has been complaining that his head hurts. The local clinic that we go to doesn't have the resources to do more then a basic exam and prescribe taking some over the counter children's painkiller. I'm of the mind to think it's something worse then just basic growing pains."

"Besides headaches, anything different? Eating or sleeping patterns change? Did anyone new arrive at the household or someone leave? Anything of that nature?"

Crossing her arms over her chest, Maggie nibbled on her bottom lip in thought. "No one left or arrived. We were out and about more this Winter's Fire then last year. Fox made it possible. It was soon after that, that he started getting worse too. Stubborn boy."

"Oh? How so?" The TURK Medic subtly prompted for more information as she took care of the very basics of Jamie's exam. like temperature, breathing and heart rate.

Maggie nodded, "Yeah. Like all the others he was a foundling. Showed up out of the blue late summer, early fall last year. It wasn't until after first snow that we were able to get him to trust us enough to actually live inside the house. Even now he's pretty skittish around strangers or people he doesn't completely trust." Maggie shrugged with a sigh. "I'm surprised you were able to get that close to him without him reacting more then he did."

Claudia arched an eyebrow as she looked at the older woman. "I take it he reacts a bit harshly?"

"That's putting it mildly. Kiba caught him just once unaware. Got knocked into the wall across the room for it too. That was a fiasco to get cleared up. Fox left and didn't return for several days. Didn't let anyone touch him, would hardly speak. Kiba on the other hand was sore for a week but forgave him easily. Something about a 'totally awesome move, teach it to me?' or something like that."

"Sounds like you have a house full," came the reply as Claudia jotted down notes in a file she started for Jamie. "Mind me asking how many live with you?"

"Psh, not at all. Starting oldest to youngest, there's Frank," she pointed in the general direction of the waiting room. "We've been married close to 25 years now. Personally I think the foundlings are up to something for our silver." She then opened her purse to dig around for something. Finding what she was looking for she offered it to Claudia. "That was taken around the beginning of the year." She pointed out each one in turn. "Fox, Kiba, Penny and Ari, Shane, Eron, Lena, Jake, Tommy and of course, Jamie."

Claudia accepted the picture and studied each individual in turn. Fox was in the back of the group, a blank expression and eyes hidden still. Kiba was of obvious Wutain decent though his hair was bleached white blond with electric blue tips. Penny and Ari were twin girls with mischievous gleams in their light blue eyes and innocent expressions. Shane stood out only because of the facial piercings and a tribal tattoo down the side of his face. Eron on the other hand was quite plain looking and could easily vanish into a crowd of like aged kids. Lena had beautiful dark chocolate skin with midnight black hair and exotic looks. Jake was a tad on the portly side with freckles and glasses, while Tommy sported a mini-Mohawk hair style, grinning like he just got away with something. Handing it back she chuckled softly. "They remind me of my co-workers. No blood relations but one of the closest knit families around."

"Sometimes those are the best ones," Maggie took the photo back then looked at Jamie. "So what's the verdict?"

"Hmm.. Going to need some additional information," Claudia said as she picked up the headphones. "With the information I have now and a bit of an educated guess, these are not just for music. They are actually hearing aides."

"Bingo," Maggie chimed in a moment later.

The younger woman nodded then offered the device back to the boy. Once he had them on she nodded her head once. "Jamie?"

The boy looked straight at her, blinking as he tilted his head to the side in question.

"Jamie, when you don't feel good, your head hurts right?"

The boy nodded. "Head hurts."

"Where does it hurt?" Claudia asked.

"Here and here and here," he replied using his hands to point out the area.

"That's what I thought. It's a good chance it's sinus related but since he also indicates the sides of his head it could also be part of an ear infection," Claudia said turning back around to face Maggie. "What I'd like to do, is schedule a fill C.A. as well as a MRI if possible."

"But we don't have the finances to cover something like that," Maggie stated, chewing on her bottom lip in worry. "What public health care that is offered won't cover it either."

The younger woman just smiled, crossing her arms over her ample chest. "Now did I say anything about money?"

"Well.. no... but.."

"No buts, ands, or ifs about it. I can see to it that it doesn't cost you a single gil for this and right now I think it's important that it get done. Not for that curiosity I spoke of earlier, either. If he's having either ear or sinus problems then we need to nip it in the bud now so it won't become a major issue later. Especially with the way his facial structure is now."

Maggie let out a sigh as she sat back. "Alright then."

"Good, now I'll need about half an hour to get things arranged. When is the best time for you and Jamie?" Claudia asked quickly jotting down a note to herself.

"Depends where it'll be done at."

"Shin-Ra."

Maggie stared at the golden redhead as if she had suddenly grown two heads. "That's a bit much isn't it?" the older woman asked skeptically. "I don't know if public transport goes that far either. I'd have to look at the route maps and see." The trip here today had been an ordeal almost and this was only the center of the city. She and her brood lived on the western edge of the city, right on the outskirts. To get to the nearest stop was at least a 15 minute walk, then the trip by bus was another hour and then another 20 minute walk on top of that thanks to the traffic detours.

"OK, how about this then? I get the go ahead first, then we choose a day then I pick you and Jamie up? Will that work."

The older woman rubbed her forehead in thought. "I suppose so. But at you say it all hinges on if you can make the deal."

Claudia grinned. Little did the woman know just how much pull she had (though truthfully it all depended on both Rufus, Tseng and what type mood they were in at the time). "Indeed. So why don't you head back out front and I'll start my finagling." She then helped Jamie down off the bed and showed the two out before heading back to the back once more, phone in hand as soon as she rounded the corner.


	6. Chapter 6

**~6~**

Reno set a fast pace on the return trip to the main tent, grousing along the way as he did. "Thanks to your little display back there, we're having to take the long way, yo! You could have behaved and we'd be cutting across the hub instead of hoofing it around the outside."

"Ruuu-ugh" Titus grunted from the shoulder being repeatedly rammed into his diaphragm and stomach. Bracing his hands against Morgan's back as best he could he shoved himself upwards some, sucking in a breath before continuing. "Rufus promised me..uurrgh ! Damn it Morgan either put me down or quite bouncing me on your shoulder unless you want me to puke all over the back of your damned suit!" the teen said rather breathlessly as the big pilot jostled him again.

Swatting the teens rump with one hand and getting an undignified yelp in response from it, the big blond laughed. "Do it Titus, and related to Shachou or not, you'll be washing it out by hand."

"Settle down both of ya, yo!" Reno growled at the pair as he wove between tent crates, piles of extra rope, and the assorted assemblage of things that had been needed to get today's event off the ground. At his heel Silly trotted along happily as if nothing unusual was going on. When thy reached the main tent, Reno nodded to the TURKs on duty at the back before slipping past in.

Morgan followed, pulling Titus off his shoulder once he was inside and steadying him on his feet. He was not at all surprised when said teen jerked out from under his touch and stalked off to the other side of the tent. Instead of saying anything though he just took up a position, arms crossed over his chest and the customary smirk gracing his lips.

When the youngest ShinRa's path was blocked by his older sibling, he stopped. "You told me that I had 90 minutes," he said though clenched teeth. "What happened to change that, sir?" he asked lifting his eyes. Blue meet blue as he started into his brother's face for a moment before dropping his eyes, looking down and away. It was always disconcerting to look Rufus in the face, it was always like looking into a mirror at himself yet older. It was also a reminder that no matter how hard they tried to change the facts, he will always be nothing more then a clone of the other. He ignored his name the first time, but the second he could not. Especially when fingers took hold of his chin and forced him to look back.

"Titus, I don't change plans just on a whim. When a situation occurs, I want you where I know your safe. Where I can be assured that if shit hits the fan I don't want to be worrying about the safety of my family," Rufus explained.

Titus tried to pull his head back but Rufus's grip was stronger then it looked. "What about Reno?"

"What about me, yo?" the redhead perked up from where he was sitting at the sound of his name.

"Reno is a TURK, has been one quite a while. He is quite capable of taking care of himself. You on the other hand do not have the proper training," Rufus replied finally letting go of the younger blond. "Once back home, we will discuss this, but until then I want you to stay here where I know you are safe."

Titus jerked away, crossing his arms over his chest and turning his back on Rufus.

"Do you understand me Titus? I will send you back early if you try to force my hand."

"I hear you brother," Titus finally said. "Is it alright if I go out back to make a call or is that too much to ask?" he asked, a slight edge to his voice as he did.

Tseng quickly stepped in to separate the pair. "That is fine Titus. Only authorized personal are back there so you do not have to worry about your safety. Shachou," the head TURK deftly directed Rufus's attention away from the youth to items on hand. "There needs to be a final decision about the raffle. Will you be handing out the main prizes or do you wish Reeve to do the honor sir?"

The youth didn't stay around to listen to anything else. He stalked out of the tent through the back door and moved far enough away that he was within eyesight, but not earshot. Flipping open the phone he dial the number he wanted. Several rings later it was picked up. "Uncle Trenton? I didn't wake you up did I?" he asked softly, bringing up a finger to chew his nail.

"Titus? No son, you didn't wake me up. All I've been doing for the past few weeks is lay here and sleep when your not keeping me company. What's the matter Titus? You sound upset. What happened?" the older man asked as he hit the control to move the bed up some. An unfortunate, yet completely accidental slip on an icy patch had resulted in a busted leg, dislocated hip and being restricted to bed rest for the moment.

"I.. he..," Titus stopped took a deep breath then blew it out. "Rufus let me go see Claudia while we are here at the event. Silly got a little out of hand being protective and I wasn't paying attention. When all was done and over with, somehow I had a hold of Silly's collar and the man had the boy well out of his reach. Then suddenly I'm being ordered back to the main tent and.. and.. I don't know anymore Uncle Trenton," he explained, pacing a little as he did so. "He didn't do anything to me, just touched my hand then smiled afterwards. He seemed.. kind of afraid of Reno and Morgan and the others..." His voice growing soft as he trailed off into silence.

The older man reached up and scratched his eyebrow then grabbed the scratcher and tried to find an angle to get the itch that was suddenly fierce and completely out of his reach under the cast. "Son, it sounds like the Director was indeed trying to keep you protected... (damn it..always get an itch out of reach when in a cast).. this man, the one that touched you,"

"He didn't hurt me uncle Trenton," Titus injected.

A deep sigh echoed over the phone. "I didn't say that Titus, but do you know who it was? Was it one of the Director's people?"

"Umm.. no.. No, I don't think so. He was with a group that came in to see Claudia."

"I see. So a stranger, one you've never meet before or seen in your life," 'Gaia please don't let it be someone from the past," he thought to himself. "Touched you then smile. There's more to it then that, isn't there?"

Titus glanced around then turned his back so no one could see his face. "Yes..." he whispered.

"What did you say?"

The teenager cleared his throat then spoke again. "Yes uncle, there was more to it then that. Where he touched, it.. it left a lingering warmth. Like he was touching me, not me physically but what was inside. He made me feel human with just that one touch."Bitting his bottom lip he waited.

There was a long silent pause as Trenton let his mind work over the implications. "... oh...I.. I see," he said knowing that the youngster was once again battling his inner demons and feeling insecure again about his origins.


	7. Chapter 7

**~7~**

Within moments of leaving the med tent, Fox just knew he was being followed. Call it instincts, call it paranoia, call it a hunch, but whatever it was it had saved him a time or dozen in the past. Unlike armatures who always seemed to be looking over their shoulders for the person following them or who ducked into shops or into alleyways, he kept going as if nothing was wrong. Prior to splitting up, everyone had agreed to meet back up at the meteor memorial statue in the center of the hub, or as close to it as possible seeing how it was roped off at the moment. Everyone else also knew that if he didn't show up to go on home without him, that he would either be there already or show up eventually.

Silently he cursed his inability to draw a full breath without trying to cough up a lung as well as the sharp piercing pain that ran up his right leg and side when he exerted himself too much of late. One or the other was enough to deal with alone but both together was enough to drive a person to look for escape in drugs or alcohol. Tucked away within his coat was a small flask of liquid that he didn't relish taking since it was becoming harder to come by here in the city. Acquisition of the liquid required trips outside the city, sometimes to the other continents even, to find. Granted the black-market value was increasing as well but money had little meaning when one was either incapacitated or just plain dead. He knew he would be forced to take it if the cough, the pain, his situation or any combination of the above changed for the worse.

After stopping by the mess tent and picking up another bottle of water to see him though the rest of the day. Fox then spent the next hour evading the blue suited patrols, always managing to slip though the noose before it tightened about him. Somewhere along the way the Foundlings discovered what was going on and gave assistance when and where they could. Even when they were asked several times to stay out of it by Fox and warned by the TURKS to not interfere, they continued to help out.

Back at the start of the fiasco, it was believed by the younger, less experienced TURKs that it would be something simple. The older more experienced members knew better. 'Nothing ever went perfectly and if it did then it was a setup' was a popular saying. Back at the compound, there was more then a few bets going on between those monitoring the situation. The odds at the moment were in favor of Tseng being the one order the teens detained. Much to the surprise of many, Rufus was the one to give the order 45 minutes later (the last 15 of which Reno was cackling like a loon on loco weed) to have the teens caught and detained till the end of the event. Tseng stepped in and specified it was the plain clothes TURKs who were the one to do the catching since it wouldn't draw attention to what was going on and they were to be brought to the main tent for safe keeping.

"Reno," Rufus snapped finally after deciding he'd had enough of his half-brother's mad laughter.

"Yo?" the redhead responded wiping an eye.

"Enough is enough already," the Shin-Ra Director said reaching up to rub a temple as he sat back down. He noticed that Titus was watching the monitors with Tseng, still sulking about earlier events. "If I let you go after the suspect will you stop with your insane laughter?"

Reno's eyes lite up with an almost childish delight. "Catch or eliminate?" he asked licking his lips as he grinned, his green eyes changing to a bluish-green that was unique to the redhead.

Rufus opened his mouth then closed it again. As appealing as eliminating the suspect was, it would leave open the question of where and how he got a hold of the materia. All they needed was some fool messing with the planet again when everything was finally on an even keel. "Capture and detain. Use what force is necessary but keep it quiet. We don't need the media getting wind of this while the event is going on and we defiantly do not need the general populace to figure out what's going on either."

"Let the suspect go if you see that lethal force is the only way. We can hunt him down after this is over," Tseng added.

"Hunt who?" came the voice of Titus from the direction of the monitors. He stood there, turning his eyes away from the screens to stare at his brother, the corners of his lips pulling downwards in a frown. Sheltered he may be, but he wasn't as naive as some thought him.

Rufus returned the frown. "It's none of your concern Titus."

"The man you are after has done nothing. Why do you hunt an innocent person?" Titus asked as he turned away from the monitors and approached the older men. In a perfect mimic of Rufus he crosses his arms over has chest, shifting his weight as he does.

"There is more proof that he is guilty of breaking established laws just by the fact he has materia," Rufus explained. Though just why was he explaining anything to Titus when the boy had no business with the subject at hand was beyond him at the moment.

"Again you have no proof that-"

"Yo! First of the kiddies are arriving Shachou," Reno broke in as he held the back tent flap open for the 'guests' and their escort.

Tseng, Rufus and Titus all turned as one to look at the youth's that entered the tent, stopping their discussion for the time being as well.

The first one that came in was a boy wearing glasses. He was a tad on the portly side but it was more baby fat then obesity. His hair was a dull shade of red with the tips dyed black, close cropped on the sides and a little longer in the back. His eyes were a green-gold with freckles dusting across the bridge of his nose and cheeks. His choice of clothes appeared to be surplus army but the jacket he wore was newer and better taken care of.

Right behind the boy came the second youth. A girl wearing the same style cloths and jacket though tailored to suite her. The girl's skin was a beautiful, dark chocolate color which caused her dark gold eyes to stand out. Her midnight black hair was tightly braided against her head, creating a sleek predatory look that went well with her exotic features. At the end of each braid was several tiny beads that clattered together musically when she moved her head. She was of obvious mixed heritage and would be lucky enough to go though life, maturing and aging gracefully.

Tseng stepped forward, hands clasp in front of him as he looked both over. "Do you know why you are here?" he asked testing the level of intelligence as well as the measure of their upbringing.

The two exchanged looks before nodding. "Yes sir," the girl answered finally.

"And why is that?"

"Because we've been getting a few knickers in a twist by helping out someone," the boy answered this time.

Reno put a hand over his mouth as he snickered at the response. "More like an annoying pimple at the pantie line, easily gotten rid of," he spoke up.

"Naa, that's where you wear thongs or go commando. Ain't gotta worry about ass zits," the girl sad looking over her shoulder winking with a sly grin.

Reno shifted his weight raising an eyebrow slightly. "Are you hitting on me, yo?"

"And if I was?" she shot back still grinning. "Sorry Charlie but your not the honey for my money. Besides your a bit old for me. Now golden boy there is a sweet piece of eye candy that I bet is fine and dandy," she nodded in Titus's direction, completely missing the less then pleased look on the olderblond's face.

The boy ducked his head smacking the palm of his hand against his forehead. "You've been hanging with the terror twins too much Lena."

"At least I'm hanging with someone Jake, not sitting in front of the computer playing games," Lena retorted.

"Nothing wrong with that," Jake muttered in a sulky tone.

Tseng cleared his throat to grab their attention again. "Children, please refrain from your bickering. Now, until the end of the event you will be a guest of Director Rufus. At that time we will be contacting your parents or guardians to pick you up. If you need anything please feel free to ask, just don't expect it to be given."

The two looked at each other again then nodded. "Yes sir," they both replied.

"Good," Tseng nodded once then turned. "Shachou it's time," he said gesturing politely to the front entrance and Reeve who had arrived moments before.

"As I said earlier, we will discuss this once we return to the compound Titus," Rufus said quietly before heading in the direction of the tent entrance.

Those TURKs working as Rufus's security fell into place like clockwork. Reno followed up the rear whistling to himself as he thought of the fun he was going to have running the suspect. Titus huffed a sigh then frowned before shifting his attention. "Is there anything you would like at the moment? Refreshments or anything else?"


	8. Chapter 8

**~8~**

Teen number three showed up at the main tent about ten minutes after Rufus and company left. This time it was Shane, the sixteen year old with the tattoos and piercings. There was a bit of uneasiness running though the TURKs at the thought of this punk anywhere near the Director's brother, but the one left in charge was an experienced agent who knew looks didn't always count.

Titus stared in utter fascination at the newcomer. He'd seen tattoos before as well as piercings (his half-brother's partner for life sported both), but never like the ones the teen was sporting. His eyes traced the lighting bolts thatzig-zaged up from throat to hairline then danced over the eyebrow rings down to the two rings in his lower lip. He absently wondered if it had hurt getting the piercings and tattoos and if there was more then he was seeing at the moment. Apparently his thoughts showed though on his face when the teen sat down directly across from him at the table and grinned.

"The tat goes from hairline to wrist," he said holding up his arm and rolling the sleeve back showing off the dark inking on flesh. "Also got both nipples pierced and a pair of collar piercings too. Want to see them?" he asked, quite proud of the body art he sported.

"Eeww, no thank you!" Jake muttered. To him piercings and tattoos were purposeful disfigurements of the body, not decorations to be touted about. He made a face and looked away.

"Seen them already Shane," Lena responded with utter boredom before turning with a grin of her own to Titus. "But I'd love to see what you got under your clothes."

Titus blinked, not quite sure how to handle the attention. He was use to it being older adults being the ones to make comments like that to him, not someone younger then himself.

"Ugh! Lena your acting like a cuahl in heat," Jake spoke up giving the dark skinned girl a disapproving look.

"And your acting like a prudish virgin," she countered.

It was about this time that the next teen, or in this case, preteen showed up. He came strutting in like he owned the place, min-Mohawk and Cheshire grin giving the boy a look of a lunatic. "Miss me?" he asked in a sing-song tone of voice. All arguing between the two stopped as they turned in the direction of the tent flap. Lena and Shane were both up to greet the boy, trading hand slaps, friendly arm punches and knowing laughter.

It wasn't the first time that Titus felt left out of something even though he could see it taking place right in front of him. He saw it every day at the compound between the various staff members and Shin-Ra employees that he meet or that was allowed to interact with him. He understood the feelings of emptiness but didn't know how to fill them since anytime he tried there was subtle interferences, polite insistence's that he was requested elsewhere or just plain denial of his requests. He stood up, moving away from the other youths to give them time together when a tug at his jacket stopped him.

"Hi! I'm Tommy, what's your name?" asked the brightly grinning boy holding out his hand.

"Uh... Titus," the young ShinRa answered finally after several confused moments. "Titus ShinRa, it's a pleasure to meet you Tommy." Falling into learned diplomacy was something he could do without blinking an eye. He found his hand slapped several times then grasped at an odd angle.

"Kewl! That means your like, the pres's son or something?" Tommy asked.

Titus looked at his hand a moment then shook his head. "I'm his," (clone) "Youngest..er.. younger brother," he said cheeks tinting at the mistake in his words. He'd been told over and over that only the most trusted of staff knew that Reno was Rufus's younger half-brother.

Tommy suddenly nodded then looked pointedly at the older teens who were still bickering amongst themselves. "Don't worry. I know what it's like to be the youngest. I get to deal with them," he nodded to said teens, "every day. Being the youngest sucks sometimes. Hey! Got any cards?"

A pair of squeals and the twin sounds of flesh meeting flesh caused everyone to stop and look in the direction of the sound. Identical twin teenage girls flounced in, both scowling and looking offended. Just past them was a highly confused male TURK with matching hand prints on his cheeks. Before the flap dropped said TURK was suddenly grabbed by the ear and hauled off by a pissed looking female TURK. "I swear! I never touched either one!" cried the TURK that was being hauled off. Right behind came a smirking, snickering Wutain teen with bleached white blond hair, the tips of which were dyed electric blue. He darted in goosing the twins again then ducked out of range of their hands.

"Damn it Kiba! So help me if that was you the first time I'm going to smack the shit out of you!" the first twin said raising a hand threateningly.

"Only if I get to help," said the second twin.

Tommy sighed, rolling his eyes. "The girls, Penny and Ari, are affectionately known as the Terror Twins. The fellow with the white and blue hair is Kiba. He loves teasing the girls but if anyone else tries anything he's right there to protect them." The boy leaned a little closer and lowered his voice, "I remember when they arrived. All three were from the same place, a place they don't talk about but from what I've overheard, it was not a very nice place."

Titus's eyes widened a moment then he nodded in understanding. He'd been a place that wasn't 'very nice' for quite a while himself. "Oh. I.. I see." He turned his head and jerked back in surprise. Another teen had shown up without a word, seated himself at the table and was talking quietly with Jake. "Who?"

"Great! We're all here. Kewl Dude! Anyone got the cards?" Tommy crowed as he darted around the older blond teen to claim a place at the table, almost bouncing in place.

"Hey Tommy, been into the candy again?" asked the newcomer.

The boy just grinned and bounced up and down several times "Nope, not a single piece..."

"Right Tommy-boy, right," Lena said with a snort. "I'll believe that when I see Frank get up and walk on his own."

"Enough! Settle down everyone," the newcomer called out standing up and rapping the table with his knuckles. Surprisingly everyone did just that, all coming to stand around the table like they were in a meeting. "Alright, time for introductions and no funny stuff, got that?" he asked looking around at the gathered group. Once he received nods from everyone he pointed to Tommy first then grinned suddenly. "Choco-Scout Roll Call!"

"Hi! I'm Tommy the hyper-kid!" the boy was bouncing excitedly up and down.

"Greetings. I'm Jake the techno-geek," he said pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Hey there sexy, I'm Lena the cuahl kitten," she me-yowed, curling fingers of one hand like a cats paw.

"Hello. My name is Eron and I'm a ghost," he added in a soft voice

"Salutations, I'm Shane the man of metal and ink," he said, turning his head to show off the tattoo and piercings.

"Hiya! I'm Arithena," - "And I'm Penelope," - "And we're the Terror Twins!" they said together tapping fisted hands together. "Terror Twin Powers Activate!"

"And last but never least, I'm Kiba the fun loving fellow," the last youth put in, grinning & giving a peace sigh.

And with that, they all struck comic posses. "Choco-Scout Roll Call Complete," they said together before turning and making equally funny faces.

Titus was completely and utterly baffled at first. Then it happened. It started out small at first, a tiny bit of air puffed out, soon fallowed by another and another till he started giggling. Eyes widened suddenly as he slapped a hand over his mouth in shock, but he couldn't stop. The giggling turned to snickers that developed into chuckles before mutating into full blown laughter. Laughter that he couldn't stop as he staggered back. Falling on his arse he wrapped his arms about his waist, bending forward as he tried to suck in air between the gales of mirth.

"By Jove I think he's got it!" Shane said suddenly.

Those words only fueled Titus's hilarity even more as he was gasping with tears rolling down his cheeks, laughing like a fool. It would be some minutes before he slowed down enough to order another table to add to the current one, more chairs and several decks of cards along with refreshments.


	9. Chapter 9

**~9~**

Up on the main stage, Tseng reached up pressing the ear piece in slightly at the continued reports. His movements were so ordinary and slight that he never drew attention away from Rufus who was currently speaking.

_**"Damned brat. Just strolled up pretty as you please to the main tent. Last one is caught boss."**_

Now that all the teens were now accounted for perhaps Rufus's temper would be placated for a he received Titus's request he approved the items without blinking an eye. With years of experience and professional ease, his eyes roamed over the gathered crowds picking out his men and women, suited or not. He could also see the pattern of TURKs closing in and herding their target away from the crowds, into an easier to control area.

_**"Ifrit's balls! For being crippled up the fucker's fast and agile when he wants to be."**_

_**"I thought I saw him take something a few moments ago. Drug's is my guess."**_

_**"I don't want fucking guesses, I want answers!"**_

The head TURK didn't roll his eyes and sigh in exasperation like he wanted to. No matter how badly he wanted to give into the feelings of annoyed amusement at the comments passing back and forth between the TURKs in the field and those back at command. It would just not do to be seen in public making faces like that.

_**"Does anyone fucking know where that gods be damned alley goes to?"**_

_**"Which one sir?"**_

_**"The one up ahead. Open your eyes rookie and look damn it."**_

_**"..."**_

_**"I heard that."**_

Reno could be absolutely ruthless when he wanted to be. Especially when he was given the chance to hunt down a suspect from stalk and chase to final take down. And right now his blood was stirred up with the excitement of a stalk and chase of someone that could give him a decent workout. Not many like that around anymore. Or rather not many that made themselves a target like this fellow had.

_**"Sir, the alley runs about 100 yards then empties out into an abandoned plaza."**_

_**"So your telling me that unless he can either fly, climb like a spider, or squeeze though a gap that even a rat can't get though he's trapped?"**_

_**"Yes sir."**_

_**"Good. I want want the alleyway blocked so he can't get back out. When I give the word, I want those units at the mouth to move in and make sure nothing gets by. Not even a gnat's fart you got me?"**_

A chorus of affirmatives was the reply.

Somewhere along the way Rude broke off from his own surveillance and made his way down the alley. He flashed his ID and was allowed to pass without comment. There was no way anyone would try and stop the big guy when it was his partner on the other end of the alley fixing to get into a scrap with someone that had been declared armed and dangerous.

It wasn't drugs that Fox took, but the last of his water before discarding the now empty bottle. Cursing himself silently for ending up in a dead end, he turned to look for a way out. Instead what he found was less then pleasing. A wall of blue suits coming down the alleyway with the redhead in the lead. There was no way he was letting them take him alive. It wasn't just a cliche either. He seriously did not think he would survive long if he was caught and not for the reason many would have thought either. Freedom meant he could do whatever it took to stay alive so that he could find a way out of his problem that didn't involve being poke, prodded or examined. A shudder went through him at the mere thought of being used like that again.

"Looks like your at the end of your rope, yo," Reno said once he emerged from the alleyway. "Why don't you be a good fellow and just give up? It'll save you from getting too bruised up." The TURK grinned, EMR bounding on his shoulder jovially. "Granted yo, I'd be quite disappointed if that happens but hey I'll live." With a detached professionalism he scanned the suspect up and down, noting how he shifted his weight from one leg to the other as he flexed fingers. He remembered which leg was favored earlier in the med tent and knew it was the one he was putting all his weight on. He felt the building tension behind him as the younger TURKs waited uneasily for the outcome, good or bad. That tension went up several notches as the suspect reached into the great coat he was wearing.

Slowly Fox reached into his coat, fingers finding and undoing the clasp that held one of his weapons securely. When the strap was secure, fingers curled around a leather wrapped handle as he started pulling it free. The echoing sound of a dozen or more safeties disengaging bounced around the deserted plaza.

Without saying a word, Reno held out a hand and those guns were lowered though not put away. "So I take it your not going to give up peacefully?Aawww too bad yo," he snickered. "Don't worry I'll go easy on ya to start out with." Reno was like a sudden red blur thanks to the Mako enhanced speed of his.

_**"Someone get a recording of this!"**_

_**"Don't think you have to worry about that."**_

Faster then a normal human but not quite up to par with the redhead, the sound of leather sliding against leather as a whip made from the tentacle of amalboro was revealed. Seated at the base of the handle was a green glowing orb that pulsed in time with the man's heartbeat. Flicks of the wrist sent the whip twirling and striking like a serpent, tongues of electricity casting an eerie blue glow to the black leather as the tip left tiny smoking creators in it's wake.

_**"Fuck he's got Materia."**_

_**"Positive conformation on possession of Materia."**_

_**"Lightening Materia attached to his whip!"**_

Tseng's lips tightened together in displeasure. It was now confirmed the suspect possessed and was using illegal material. If he survived the encounter with Reno and was captured, it was a long prison sentence that awaited him. Glancing about he saw similar looks on the other members of the Director's security detail. They were hearing the same reports and wasn't any more pleased then he was. If something happened to Reno, it was a foregone conclusion that the suspect would not survive for very long.

After finishing up his speech, Rufus glanced over to Tseng raising a blond eyebrow in question. When he was giving the signal that all was going well he turned to Reeve to hand over the rest of the ceremonies to the olderWRO chairman. He was not looking forward to the half hour but like any good politician and actor, he schooled his expression to reflect an enjoyment he didn't feel.

_**"Shit did you see that?"**_

'Come on Ren baby, quit playing with the bastard and take him down,' Rude thought to himself as he watched his lithe lover dance and prance about, getting in hits while avoiding taking anything more serious then a few rips and tears in his clothes. The more he watched the more he was positive that the suspect was pulling his strikes. It was like he was building up to hit.. "The wall," he muttered suddenly, rich chocolate eyes widened in alarm as everything fell into place. "Reno! He's gonna hit the Wall!" Rude bellowed out.

Reno jerked his head in the direction of his lover's voice before turning with Mediterranean colored eyes going wide with the same realization. He's been played and played well. He tried pulling his EMR away, but the suspects hand now gripped it,taloned nails biting into the metal with inhuman strength. "Fuck! Fuckity, fucking, fucked, fuck! Yo!"

Over the tops of the dark glasses, honeydew colored eyes changed to molten silver-green as Fox stepped past the realm of normality. All that his instincts were screaming was for escape and if he had to go though the blue wall of humans then he'd do it. With a growl he shoved the redhead away from him as backed up, a wall of flames springing up around him. The whip spun over his head once, twice, a third time before coming down with a thunderous crack, the sonic wave causing several windows in the abandoned plaza front to shatter. The following flash of blinding white cause everyone yelp or cry out in surprise, trying to clear their sight to find out what just happened. From the center of the flames shot a chocobo sized fox made of fire. It made a crazy mad a dash towards the alleyway to leap over the heads of the TURKs there only to vanish moment's later at the other end.


	10. Chapter 10

**~10~**

Rude took control of the situation, barking out orders for the rest of the TURKs to start searching. "Reno and I will search those two," he stated, pointing to the two stores with shattered windows.

"Fuck, yo!" Reno groused as he examined the scoring on the metal of his weapon. With a sigh he held it up, "At least we got something." Still embedded in the baton was a single bloody talon that had been ripped loose from it's fleshy bed during the last shove. "I just completed getting it customized," he said mournfully.

"Mourn later, move now," Rude instructed as he took the EMR away from Reno and handed it off to a rookie. "Get that to the Forensics Unit ASAP."

"Yes sir!" the rookie saluted then took off with the object in question.

"What's the hurry yo? He's gone." Outwardly he didn't seem to care the suspect was gone, but inside he was as gleeful as a child during Winter's Fire with a huge stack of presents waiting for him. This just meant he could continue his hunt.

Rude didn't say anything, gust gave Reno a look though the battered shades that said shut up and follow. Turning on heel he headed to the first building then cautiously looked inside. Holding up a finger to signal his partner to stay quiet, he tipped his head first one way then another. Backing away from his first choice he went to the second and repeated the process.

"He can't blame me for those shades this time," Reno muttered not bothering to hide the roll of his eyes before he examined his nails then his clothes. Skin was untouched beneath the rips and tears, not even a red mark to show for it. At the sound of a finger snap, he looked up head tilted to the side. He headed towards Rude, following the signals about which way to go. The pair slid though the darkness, stepping carefully so not to make any noises. When they turned a corner, Reno's eyes brightened as he started grinning. They found their prey. Prey that was apparently unconscious too (or at least unmoving). Three steps later and his shirt was chocking him from where Rude had grabbed him, yanking him back. "What the fuck yo!"

"Shut it Ren," Rude ordered as he knelt down next to the person. With a gentleness that belied his size and reputation for being a bruiser, he carefully rolled the suspect over. Large hands moved with grace as the great coat was parted to revel a loose fitting silk dress shirt that had once seen better days. Those same hands ghosted up the thin column of a neck to unravel the soft black scarf but stopped then went back down to part the top of the shirt. "Shiva's tits," Rude muttered in disgust reaching up to rub his throat.

"What?" Reno asked not liking the change in Rude's tone of voice. Dropping into a crouch next his aibou, he studied Rude's profile in the dim light. With a sigh he turned his head away and looked down at the suspect. He lifted a hand to scratch the side of his head a moment then tilted his head the other direction. "So aibou, what am I suppose to be looking at?"

"This," the big TURK said after he removed the scarf and opened the shirt further.

The 'This' in question was a neck ring fastening so tightly against the flesh of Fox's neck that it looked almost embedded into it. The front part curved downwards to the hollow of the throat to curl cruelly back in on itself like hooks. Nestled in that hollow spot was an orb hardly larger then a ping-pong ball, that pulsed with dull, erratically changing colors in time with his heartbeat. On either side of the orb, right over his jugular veins, was tiny ports that allowed something to be connected to it.

"The Fuck?" Reno gasped jerking back like he'd just been presented a vile diseased piece of Jenova. He shot to his feet and started pacing like a caged animal. His expressions going from total gut wrenching disgust to shock then cascading into dismay and furious anger. Every time he turned he'd shot a look to Rude mouth opening and closing but nothing came out. Right this moment he was feeling an equal amount of disgust and hate towards himself for so gleefully chasing after the person. It was like being told to hunt down a dangerous monster only to discover afterwards that it was a child's defenseless pampered pet. He was stopped when strong arms curled around him from behind, pulling him against an equally strong chest. Twisting around Reno buried his face against the love of his life's chest.

"Shh, you didn't know Little Big man," Rude rumbled softly while stroking fiery red strands. He learned how to read and interpret what Reno was thinking just by they way he acted. "I willing to bet no one knows about it, not even those he's let close to him."

"So, what are we going to do?" Reno asked, his voice muffled by the old coat Rude was wearing.

"Right this instant?"

A nod.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? What do you mean nothing? There's got to be something that can be done, yo," Reno said with an incredulous look.

"When you were a kid, did you ever find a wounded animal?"

Crinkling his nose in thought he shook his head. "Not that I can remember. Why?"

Rude sighed, glancing down at the unconscious suspect he watched the orb for several moments. "When I was a kid, I found this wounded animal once. I thought I was doing the right thing by taking it to nurse it back to health. It didn't last more then a day. Turned out it was so frightened that it died. The way I see it our suspect-"

"Fox. His name is Fox," the redhead spoke up suddenly.

"The way I see it, Fox is like that wild animal. Injured, frightened and backed into a corner. If we tried to take him in, he wouldn't last more then a day or two. Even drugging him senseless could cause problems later on. We're going to have to get him to trust us before we can help him."

Reno nodded in understanding, even if he didn't like it. "When did you get so wise, yo?"

"Self-defense from being around you so much. One of us has to be the wise one," Rude replied with a chuckle. "Now Little Big Man, give me all your cash and take my wire. Since I'm the one incivies I'll see if I can coax him into trusting me and letting us help him."

"Shit Rude, Tseng'll be pissed about this. And I'll get my ass chewed out for letting you do it too, yo," Reno reasoned as he stepped back with a sigh, already fishing his wallet out of a pocket. He paused a moment in thought. "Hey partner, Claudia had a chance to glance him over when he was in the med tent. Said he was in pretty bad shape then.. think you can get him to trust you enough to get some drugs into him if she can get them for you?"

Scratching at the annoying face fuzz a moment he nodded. "Can't hurt to try." Kneeling down once more next to Fox, he reached down and repositioned the unconscious man's head so that it was tipped back, throat exposed fully. "Give me your phone Ren," he said.

"Who do you want the pics to go to?" Reno asked knowing without asking what his partner wanted to do.

"Elena, little sister has been in a blue mood for the past few weeks and this will let her get a hand in since she wasn't able to come today. And Claudia cause she's the best damned medic around and knows how to keep quiet. Also tell Tseng, but only if you have to," Rude replied hating to keep his boss out of the loop at the moment. He didn't try and kid himself into thinking the Wutain would never find out. In moments several pictures were snapped and the phone handed back. Once done he re-arranged Fox's clothing so that it would look as if nothing had taken place. As he was doing that he moved one arm reveling a bracer of the same design with two more orbs, one showing more blues and the other with purple as the dominant color, pressing against his wrists. These orbs were barely half the size of the one at his throat. With a sneaking suspicion he checked the other arm. The same thing except these orbs were greenish and yellow-gold. He held out the his hand for the phone again and got additional pictures.

Once he had his phone back, Reno turned and walked away. Even though he was an experienced and battle hardened TURK, there was only so much he could stand. The last time he'd come across something this bad had been several years ago and of a different nature but still just as bad. Crossing his arms over his chest he hugged himself. A few minutes later the sound of footsteps had him turning his head. "It time?"

"Yeah," Rude replied in his deep rumbling voice wrapping his arms about the lithe redhead once more. "I'll report in as often as possible. Will have Claudia pass any messages to you alright?"

"Not alright, but it'll have to do, yo," Reno answered back, accepting the comfort of the big man's arms. "Be safe," he told Rude before giving him a soul deep kiss, which was heartfelt returned.


	11. Chapter 11

**~11~**

After Reno exited the old abandoned building, Rude settled down for the wait. As he sat there he took the opportunity to study Fox's face trying to place where he had seen him before. When nothing came to mind right off the bat, he shrugged to himself and continued to wait patiently, formulating a plan of action.

Reno on the other hand, was a bundle of nervous energy but never showed it as he strolled out of the building, slouching with hands in his pocket. One of those hands though was wrapped about his phone, fingers drumming against the plastic and metal casing. That one small device held a wealth of information that could be both helpful and damning depending on who got it first. With one last glance behind him he put a grin on his face and left the alleyway behind.

During this same time frame back at the main tent (post last-teen-roundup and pre corner-the-Fox that is), Titus was getting a sudden indoctrination into the life of a teenager. As soon as the table, chairs, cards & snacks arrived Eron had everyone organized and working. Kiba and Shane arranged the tables while the terror twins arranged the chairs. Lena, Jake and Tommy were setting out drinks and snacks after everything else was set up. Once it was, everyone took their place. Titus was still at a baffled loss of what to do. Granted he'd seen his older brothers and their partners set up something similar on an occasion or two, but their snacks and drinks were more for adults then kids. Not to mention the game itself was more adult orientated.

"Have you ever played cards before Titus?" Eron asked as he removed the jokers from the deck then started shuffling the cards.

"I... Someone tried to teach me once but Brother did not approve of the game in question," Titus said in reply, frowning in thought. "Poker? Something... Ah, strip poker I believe the game was called." At several of the raised eyebrows he tilted his head, again baffled at the reaction. "I take it that by the looks I am receiving, that was not a proper card game."

Kiba coughed into his hand. "Eh.. well ya see Titus, no and yes. No cause your under age and I bet the person who wanted to teach you was a legal adult and yes cause the game itself can be quite fun when you have the right settings and players."

"Oh," a look of understanding lite in Titus's blue eyes. "I see."

"Yeah," Penelope ('Call me Penny!') nodded. "Once your older and find the right people to play it with you might have a grand old time of it." Her twin ('I'm like.. Ari thank you!') nodded in agreement. The two shared a secretive grin though.

Lena eyes the twins making a face and snaking her head side to side. "Uh-uh, don't you two terror twins be getting any ideas about this piece of dandy eye candy. I saw him first so he's mine," she said staking her claim.

"Geeze Lena, he's like.. what? 3 to 5 years older then you and he's the Pres's little brother. I don't think any of you have a chance at him," Jake muttered.

"Hey, if I have to join the TURKs to be able to watch that fine piece of a-"

"Lena, enough," Eron sighed, rolling his eyes. "You've made it quite clear you are enraptured with his posterior, not to mention his entire physique. May we get on with the game before we are ejected from the premises?" he asked. Once she huffed an agreement he continued. "Thank you. Now, since you lack the experience or knowledge of card games we shall start out with a basic explanation then go from there. Does that sound good to you?"

Titus nodded, thinking that Eron sounded way too much like Tseng in the way he spoke and acted. Reaching over to the snack bowl set close by he pauses to see if anyone says anything. When no one spoke up he filled a small Styrofoam bowl with the crunchy, salty mix and set it in front of him. He eyed the sodas but wasn't sure if he would like them. Since he came to stay with his brother, his choice of drinks tended towards teas, juices, waters and sports drinks. Healthy stuff mostly, just like his meals. So feeling brave, he snagged a can with a green lighting bolt on the side. "Good as any," he murmured to himself.

"Alright then, the card game that we usually play is called Cartel. It's based off an older card game called War. In War, the cards are dealt evenly between two players. After shuffling the cards the players flip the top card over. The one with the highest card wins that deal. Usually it runs as aces low, kings high. The game continues until one player holds all the cards. Understand so far?"

Titus nodded then popped the soda open and took a cautious sip of the fizzing liquid. His eyebrows shot up in surprise at the sweet citrus flavor. Taking another sip he swirled the liquid around in his mouth, fully tasting the flavors before swallowing. It wasn't half bad he decided. By the time he had half the soda drank he realized everyone was looking at him. Slowly he lowered the soda pink tinting his cheeks.

"You've never had soda before have you?" asked Tommy.

Titus shook his head. "No. Why? Is there something wrong?"

"Dude, you grabbed a Bolt. Between the sugar and the caffeine your gonna be bouncing off the walls," Tommy said with a grin. "Nothing wrong with that." When he reached for a Bolt of his own his hand got slapped away and he was handed an Ice instead. "Awww.. maann."

"You've already had a couple of Bolts today Tommy, no more or else Maggie is going to have our heads tonight," Eron pointed out. "No Titus, nothing wrong with your choice. Now on to the rest of the game. Cartel is a multi-person version of War. It is played with several packs of cards instead of one and like War, you play till you run out of cards. The only rule to the game is, if two people or more put down the exact same highest card, like Fours or queens, you then 'battle' by flipping face down four additional cards. The fourth card then is turned face up. Highest card wins. If it's another tie then you repeat. When you run out of cards in your hand, you shuffle your pile and keep going." Once he got a nod in understanding he finished shuffling the cards then dealt them out. "Oh, any cards left over after being dealt out goes in the pile for the winner of the first round," He added dropping the last few cards into the center of the table face up. "Let's play."


	12. Chapter 12

**~12~**

With well disguised relief at being able to leave the stage, Rufus nodded politely to the gathered high ranking officials as he headed to the stairs. His security already falling into place like a well oiled machine. "One last piece of business then we can leave," he murmured to Tseng as he glanced in the direction of the main tent. "Has there been any reports on the suspect?"

"Reno returned about 30 minutes ago, he hasn't given any reports yet."

"Hmm," Rufus nodded being use to Reno's ways. "How about the meddlesome teenagers?"

"Their parents and guardians are being summoned to the stage at this moment and will be escorted to the main tent once they have arrived," Tseng informed the Director as they walked.

"Good," Rufus nodded once more glancing around.

Back at the stage, the PA system crackled to life once more. "Would the parents and or guardians of the Foundlings - Kiba, Arithena, Penelope, Eron, Shane, Tommy, Lena and Jake - please come to the main stage? Again, would the parents and or guardians of the Foundlings - Kiba, Arithena, Penelope, Eron, Shane, Tommy, Lena and Jake - please come to the main stage. Thank you."

In the back of the crowd, closest to the Meteor Memorial Statue, Frank and Maggie let out groaned sighs. "Well at least it was at the end of the event rather then the beginning," Frank said, shifting Jamie on his lap. The boy had fallen asleep a little while earlier from being worn out thanks to all the excitement.

"I'll push, you hold the runt so we can get this taken care of sooner," Maggie said. "Besides I've been carrying him all day, it's your turn now." She didn't wait for his nod before she started pushing him in the direction of the stage. From a higher advantage point it looked like a fish swimming upstream to its spawning ground as the two maneuvered their way though the departing crowds. When they arrived at the stage, a pleasant looking young man in a crisp blue suite was waiting for them. "We're the kid's guardians," Maggie said with a slightly tired and resigned sounding voice.

"Ah," the young man was well trained so didn't even raise an eyebrow at the fact there was only one older woman and a handicapped man claiming to be the guardians of eight teens. "Right this way then," he said indicating the direction of the main tent where said teens were being held.

The two adults were prepared for anything from total uncontrolled chaos to just general havoc and mayhem when they arrived. What they found was on par for their charges, especially when it came to anyone in a position of higher authority. The teens seemed to give a only enough to not be disrespectful and they sure as hades wasn't going out of the way to be more then stiffly polite when spoken to.

Those that were no longer involved with the apparent game of cards were clustered to one side chatting about whatever took their fancy at the moment. Shane was standing, one arm crossed over his chest his elbow resting in the palm of his hand as he played with his piercings. His eyes darting between the card players and the adults standing around. Tommy had his hands tucked away in his pockets as he bobbed his head up and down with a rhythm only he seemed to sense. Surprisingly the twins, who were quite good with cards, were standing behind Tommy, bodies touching shoulder to knee with their arms about the other's waist as they completed each other's sentences as only identical twins seemed to be able to do.

As Maggie wheeled Frank closer to the table and the teens a flurry of cards being laid out indicated there was a draw between at least two of the five players. It was easy to tell that the pace of the game had gone up several notches as minor grumbles from Jake as he had to give up. It left the game down to four players as the red-headed youth stood up. He moved his chair out of the way before turning to join his fellow teens. The chair having been abandoned was promptly removed by one of the TURKs to be handed off to someone else. The teens went silent for several moments before once more softly talking.

"Tell me Titus, do you know what a cartel is by any chance?" Eron asked suddenly.

Titus paused, cards in hand ready to flip the top one over. "A Cartel?" he asked as he frowned in thought. "A Cartel is a group of formally independent producers whose goal is to increase their collective profits by means of price fixing, limiting supplies or other restrictive practices." The blond youth chanced a look around but didn't spot his older brother anywhere so proceeded on. "Before Shin-Ra under my Father, President ShinRa's control became a monopoly, it was part of a larger cartel of power companies which held what was once a collective of smaller cities and towns, in their thrall. After the unification into the mega city known as Midgar, President ShinRa eliminated the others thus forming the monopoly. There are numerous other examples of cartels most of which are of the less then legalvarity though a few are considered harmless for the most part. Such as the cartel of chocobo ranchers. There is such little call for the large flightless birds other then racing that most no longer give it a thought, thus it is a cartel that is dieing a slow, silent death."

Eron nodded. "Sounds like a lot of Read and Repeat but you know the basic gist of what a cartel is then. Though truthfully this game should have been named Monopoly since that's the object, to be come the only one with all the cards. But I digress on that fact. A cartel is a group ofindividules who make deals between each other to ensure the best possible outcome." The youth smiled as he held out his hand.

"Pleasure as always Eron," Kiba said handing over his stack of cards then standing and joining the others.

"Lena?" Eron asked the only remaining female member of the card group.

"And what will I get in return?" the dark skinned girl asked, leaning back in her chair. Her dark gold eyes narrowed as she waited.

"Why Lena, you will receive what you always receive when playing this game."

"Hmmm...," she turned to Titus. "Tell me Goldie-locks, what type of deal can you offer me to sweeten the pot?"

Titus thought about what he could offer to the girl. A slow curl of the lips as it came to him. He had learned over the last few years that sometimes it wasn't what one had but what one implied they had that was the deal maker and sometimes it just took a little extra charm to get the others to eat out of one's hand. Crooking his finger he motioned her closer. Once she did he leaned even closer, lips gently brushing the shell of her ear as he whispered the offer.

Lena's eyes went huge as she jerked away looking at Titus as if he'd suddenly grown two heads or in this case offered her something she'd been wanting since first seeing him. "Shit! You serious?" she asked disbelievingly.

Titus nodded then motioned her closer again. Once more he whispered into her ear before he leaned back with the trademark ShinRa smirk sliding onto his lips. Not a word otherwise did he say.

"Shit, you are." She then looked at Eron and laughed. "Sorry Charlie but his deal is a whole hell of a lot sweeter then what you have ever offered." She collected all her cards and handed them over with a flourish to Titus. "Your cards good sir."

Titus accepted the stack then stood up offering his hand to the dark skinned girl. When she accepted he helped her stand (even though she didn't need the help) and pulled her close. "Thank you my dark skinned beauty," he replied before cupping her face in his hands and proceeded to fulfill his first half of the deal. With all of his past experience to draw from, he gently laid his lips against hers giving her a seemingly passionate yet completely chaise at the same time, kiss.


	13. Chapter 13

**~13~**

It was of course at this point in time in which Rufus ShinRa, Director of Shin-Ra Electric Company and his 'Older Brother' decided to arrive at the tent. He was given a perfect view of his 'little brother' giving one of the troublesome teenage girl's a rather passionate kiss. If Tseng had not stopped him before he took more then two steps he might have done no small amount of harm to the girl. No one was allowed to get that close to Titus without his permission. No one. And to make matters worse, the sudden round of cat-calls, wolf-whistles and cheering from the rest of the teens did nothing to improve his overall opinion of the teens either.

Lena expected to feel something besides the light pressure of his lips against hers and his warm hands against her cheeks. She wasn't sure what but she expected something, anything more then she did. At least, all the books she'd ever read always described such kisses with flowery words and details. Instead it felt down right platonic and odd, like she was kissing an older (and more experienced) sibling. 'Well damn this bites,' she thought to herself in disappointment but didn't show it. She did feel her cheeks heat up though with all the commotion her fellow Foundlings were making. She flipped them off before giving Titus a smile and a slight shake of her head.

Titus, also with a slight blush tinting his cheeks thanks to the attention they had gotten, smiled back and nodded in understanding. There were no feelings involved, no sudden revelations or finding their other half. All the kiss was, was part of a deal. Stepping back he removed his coat and draped it across the chair back then rolled up his sleeves of his dress shirt and unbuttoned his vest before he sat back down. "Shall we finish the game Eron?" he asked as he shuffled his cards, no longer the shy youth from earlier but a confidant young man with a game plan.

The quiet young man tilted his head to the side in acknowledgement. "But of course Titus, let us finish the game." He also removed his jacket and pushed up the long sleeves of his shirt. His shuffling though reflected his experience with the cards.

While most of the others had been watching the card game, Reno had been watching the teens and their interactions with Titus and visa verse. So when Rufus had arrived with Tseng he made his way around the tent to the pair. "Shachou. Sir," he greeted with a nod of his head. He could tell Rufus's mood had gone downhill after that little display of Titus's and the girl's lip lock. "Let it go Rufus, nothing was meant by it. Just some harmless fun between some kids. Teens do it all the time."

When the Director of Shin-Ra turned his attention to one of his best TURKs, it was not a very friendly look. "Might I remind you Reno, one of those 'Kids' happens to be My younger brother who does not 'Do It' all the time. Might I also remind you just what type of background he had before coming to live in the Compound. So I hardly call that 'Harmless Fun'," Rufus said in soft yet very clipped tones.

Mediterranean colored eyes blinked as Reno leaned back to take another look at his half-brother. He knew Rufus was becoming more and more protective of Titus over the last year and a half but never had he been this bad. It was almost like the blond was suddenly afraid of loosing Titus to anyone, be it the public in general all the way up to someone out to get revenge on Shin-Ra for any real or imagined slight. Or, the thought came to him suddenly, Rufus was for some asinine reason, becoming jealous. Everyone one of the younger, decent looking TURKs that had once been assigned to watch over Titus had been switched out to older, more plain -one might even say dour- looking TURKs. Yes the older ones had more experience but still. Straightening up from his normal slouch, both his eyes and his expression hardened. "No Shachou, you do not have to remind me about his past. I was there Sir."

The Wutain TURK quickly stepped in to diffuse the building tension between the two half-brothers. "Shachou, Reno. This is neither the time nor the place for such discussions," he hissed at the two. "Now Shachou, I would advise that you have a seat while Morgan prepares your helicopter for departure. You expressed a desire to be away from here and back at the compound as soon as the event was over. It is now over so we will be leaving as soon as possible." His tone indicated that he would not put up with any word in edgewise. "Reno, go inform Morgan that he is to prepare Shachou's helicopter for take off as soon as possible. I advise you to prepare your own since you will be taking Titus as well as Claudia back separately." He looked both younger men in the eye. "I will speak with the youths guardians personally." The look in Rufus's eyes said louder then any words that once they got home, there would be absolute hell to pay. Reno on the other hand had that slight guilty look that said he was hiding something from his commander, but since this was neither the time nor place it is something that would be dealt with later back at the compound.

The Wutain TURK commander waited till both younger men were they were suppose to be before he turned on his heel and walked towards the two adults near the youths. The woman was quietly giving the teens a verbal scolding at the moment though the promise of further punishment was thrown in as well. The man was keeping quiet and out of the range of the woman's ire as he continued to hold a still sleeping child and watch the card game, though from the glances and the sympathetic looks he threw the teens way he knew what type trouble they were in. As Tseng continued to observe the group, he noticed that one or two would always turn towards the wheelchair bound man as if to ask for his help but the older man would counter with the fact the teens knowingly tried to interfere with the dealings of Shin-Ra and the TURKs. As he turned his attention for a moment towards Titus and the youth named Eron he noted the way the game was progressing. Since it was a game of luck not skill it could go either way. Moving to stand to the right and behind Titus, he waited for the young ShinRa to acknowledge his presence.

When Eron paused to give the person standing just past his right shoulder a look for the third time in the last minute, Titus let his lips twitch into a smirk before vanishing to a neutral expression. "Yes, how may I help you Tseng?" he asked politely as he continued to play.

"We will be departing soon, you will have about thirty minutes to bring the game to a stopping point or to finish it completely. You will be accompanying Reno and Claudia back instead of Shachou," Tseng informed the younger ShinRa.

Titus nodded. "I see. Is there anything else I need to be aware of at the moment?"

"Not at this time," Tseng replied.

"Thank you Tseng," Titus said as he continued on with the game.

The TURK Commander inclined his head then turned away to speak with the teenager's guardians. Clearing his throat, he obtained the two adults attention. "Sir, Ma'am. I would like to have a few private words with you." He turned and walked over to a neutral area of the tent.

Before Frank could even object and use Jamie as an excuse, Maggie picked up the sleeping child and handed him off to one of the teens. "Your not getting out of this one Frank," she told him then pushed his chair in the direction indicated by the TURK. "Every time one or more of them get in trouble you find a reason not to be around. Tough luck mister, your dealing with it this time."

"Your a cruel woman Maggie," Frank said with a sigh.

"Damned right I am!" she agreed with a soft laugh before turning serious again. Even though Shin-Ra had turned over a new leaf and had a better reputation then it once did, dealing with the company in any matter was a risky business for those at the bottom of the power structure and food chain that existed within the city. So far Frankie and Maggie, the owner/operators of the the shelter know as 'Lost and Found' had worked hard to keep those that called it home safe and off the radar of those above them. Now that anonymity had been lost with the kids well meaning but ill-timed help of someone they considered family.

"What are the charges?" Frank asked going straight to the heart of the matter once they joined the dark haired TURK.

Tseng studied the wheelchair bound man in front of him. The military jacket he wore had obviously seen some better days but was worn with bitter pride. The patches were faded and frayed but still clear enough to pick out the details and discern which company he once belonged to as well as his former rank. "Grunt or SOLIDER?" he asked, knowing full well that the paraplegic was not a former SOLIDER.

Frank eyed the TURK suspiciously before answering. "Grunt. Supply Sergeant on the Wutai front. Didn't see the benefits then of becoming one of those so called Super Soldiers, still don't see how it would have helped me now. Most were nothing more then a hopped upMako -junkies with too little brains and too much testosterone poisoning. Those that didn't follow the norm were the ones to be leery of. Down right psycho scary bastards when they wanted to be."

Tseng raised an eyebrow ever so slightly. "For every rule there is an exception indeed. How long have you restricted to a wheelchair?"

Frank reached up patted his wife's hand when she placed it on his shoulder. "Since I refused to turn a blind eye to the blackmarket dealings one of the short-timers was doing. Bastard was selling off to the highest bidder anything he could to line his pocket withgil before he was due to get transferred off the front. Didn't matter which side as long as they had the cash. Enough about the past and me. What charges are the kids facing for meddling in the affairs of Shin-Ra?"

The TURK Commander didn't answer. Instead he continued to study the man and woman before him silently. He had yet to make a decision as to the teens when his phone started to vibrate. Pulling it out of his coat pocket he flipped it open and read the message. Morgan had finished prepping the helicopter and was ready to go. Closing it be dropped it back into the depths of his pocket. "You will be contacted when the final decision has been made as to what charges the teens face as well as the restitution that will requested. You will of course have the right to challenge the charges or bring up counter offers which might meet or satisfy the requests. Until then," he politely nodded to the pair before walking away. Within moments Rufus and those accompanying him back to the compound were gathered up and exited the tent.

Fifteen minutes after his brother had left Titus was bringing the game to a close. Neither he nor Eron had a truly wining hand. "Well, shall we call it a draw for the moment?" he asked with a smile.

The plain looking teen inclined his head. "For the moment. Perhaps next time we meet we can take the game start to finish," he said with a smile as he stood up, straightened his sleeves then put his jacket back on.

Titus nodded then grinned. "I look forward to it," he replied as he also righted his clothes. "Give me a moment," he instructed the waiting TURKs who were to escort him to Reno and the waiting helicopter. Turning he offered his hand to each of the boys, while the girls received a light kiss on the cheek instead of a handshake. "All things considered it was a pleasure meeting all of you," he told them. For Maggie, he took her hand and bowed over it before kissing the back of her hand like a gentleman. Frank got a firm handshake and an inclination of his head. "Ma'am, Sir. I hope we have a chance to meet again in the future. Though under less stressful situation," he added with a light chuckle. He then departed with a wave over his shoulder, calling for Silly to follow.

At the helicopter, Reno was talking with Claudia. Their voices were drowned out by the noise the rotor blades were creating. Spotting Titus, the red-head handed Claudia the phone with all the photos on it then helped her on up into the back. He had decided to give the youngest ShinRa the privilege of riding up front with him. He nodded in approval as Titus and his escorts stopped outside of the rotors range and waited, his hand on the dog's collar. He glanced up then opened the co-pilot's door before he signaled Titus to duck his head before moving forward. Reno didn't miss the sudden grin on theblond's face. After he was in and Silly in the back with Claudia, Reno secured the door then closed and secured the side doors as well. With his final check complete he climbed in on the pilot's side and buckled himself in then put on the headset. "Ready to head home?" he asked as he grabbed the stick and increased the speed of the blades.

"I guess," Titus said as he looked out the side window. In the distance he could see the others exiting the main tent. Apparently someone had called for a taxi van to take them home. He hoped he would see them again but knew that it was highly doubtful he would. Especially not if his brother was in one of his moods.

Reno leaned forward to look past his younger half-brother to see what the kid was looking at. After spotting what had Titus's attention he leaned back and took the helicopter up smoothly. With a grin he circled the area below. "Now are you ready to go home?"

Titus waved out the window and watched as the Foundlings waved back. He turned back to Reno and nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready."


	14. Chapter 14

**((A/N: Just correcting a timeline error in chapters. Nothing new.))**

**~14~**

Once back at the compound, Reno settled his baby back on its landing pad then went over the post flight check. Even though it wasn't necessary but he still did it. Satisfied he passed the helicopter over to the hands of the maintenance crew for full servicing. "Come on, let's get you down to Claudia before she comes looking for you," Reno said tucking his hands into his pockets.

"Yes sir," Titus replied quietly as he summoned Silly to his side then commanded him to heel.

"Lighten up, yo. I'm not taking ya to Ru's place until Claudia says you're good to go."

The blond nodded his head, acknowledging that Reno had spoken to him but otherwise kept quiet on the trip down to the medical area. "May I see Uncle Trenton after Claudia is finished?" Titus asked, glancing to the side at the red-head walking next to him before looking down again at where his feet were going.

Reno tilted his head to the side in thought. "Sure kid. It'll give me a chance to talk to a few people as well." Besides he was already missing his aibou and it wasn't even a full 24 hours! "Tell ya what, why don't I call Ru and see if he'll let you stay over at my place for the night? You still owe me a rematch on Ehrgeiz, yo!"

Titus looked up again then let out a soft laugh. "It's not my fault you can be distracted that easily."

Reno huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as they continued to walk. "Sickin' Silly on me was still cheating and you know it, yo!"

"I could have asked Rude to distract you instead," Titus said back, still grinning.

The red-head shook his head and huffed again, though there was an answering grin on his lips. At times, it was hard to believe that the teen walking next to him was a clone of his half-brother. There was so many little things that was identical yet so many more that made them all together different people. The rest of the way down was spent talking about what the blond was currently up to, both educational and otherwise. Upon arriving at Medical, Titus and Reno was greeted by Claudia.

"Good evening Titus, Reno," Claudia said nodding to both. "This way gentlemen." She then led the two towards her office.

Reno never had, nor will he ever, liked being in the medical area. Too many memories attached and hardly any of them good. "Do ya really need me?" he asked, eying the doors that vanished around a corner.

The buxom blond rolled her eyes before shaking her head. "No Reno, I don't need you right at the moment, but I would appreciate you staying around since I want to ask you about both the primary and the secondary incidents. Right now, all I need is Titus, so that I can run a few scans to be sure there is nothing lingering." She made a shooing motion in Reno's general direction. Once in her office she settled Titus in a comfortable chair then took the one next to it instead of the one behind her desk, though she did grab a pen and legal pad. "I'd like to start off with a few simple questions and go from there if that's OK with you Titus?"

The youngest ShinRa nodded in both understanding and permission. He liked Claudia because she explained everything she did to him before she started and anytime he came to visit her she gladly answered his questions. "Yes ma'am," he said.

"Thank you Titus. Now, let's start off at the beginning since I came in at the end. What happened first?" she asked, paying attention to his expressions and the tone of his voice as well as his words.

Titus's expression was identical to the one Rufus would wear when he was thinking about a question before answering it. "I had been given permission to visit you. When I entered the medical tent I paused to let my eyes adjust to the change. Once they had I nodded politely to the TURK on duty. Then I went to the receptionist and asked if you were available to see me." He paused once again going over his memories, giving his head the barest of nods before continuing. "I... I admit that my attention had wondered somewhat so that I missed Silly's initial reaction to...Jamie?"

"That is correct. The little boy's name is Jamie."

He smiled, happy that he remembered the child's name. "Jamie thought that Silly was someone to play with thus didn't seem to realize that Silly would do him harm, unintentional or not. I grabbed at his collar at the same time he lunged at Jamie." He frowned as he lifted his hand, running the fingers of his other hand over the two that had been injured. "I felt a.." he searched for the right words in which to convey his meaning. "..a painful twist?" he shook his head, those were not the right words.

Claudia watched and listened intently to the young man. "A painful snap? Sickening twist?" she offered.

"A sickening twist. Yes, that's it. That's what I'm looking for. Thank you."

"Glad to help."

He nodded then continued on. "I felt a sickening twist happen just after I grabbed Silly's collar. The next instant it felt as if everything had slowed down to the point of almost stopping. I thought I heard the person who grabbed Jamie away from Silly even say the word stop. The person.. I think he was called Fox but I don't believe that is or was his True name...had, has long fingers.." Trailing off Titus's eyes unfocused for several moments before he stood up and started to pace around the office before coming to a stop behind Claudia's desk. His hands rested on the back of the chair. "Am I making any sense?"

The older woman nodded. "Yes you are Titus. Don't worry about it for the moment, we'll go over a few things afterwards alright?" she asked quickly jotting down a few notes on the paper.

Titus nodded once more before moving on and started pacing once again. "Fox wrapped his fingers around my hand. There was a flair of pain followed by cooling yet soothing warmth which rolled up my fingers and hand, through my arm." He moved his hand up his arm, indicating the direction it traveled. "I must have blinked because the next thing I realized was that my hand, the one that had been injured, was not anymore and that it was curled in Silly's collar. Fox was standing several feet away as well. When I looked up to his face, he.. smiled at me. One of those tiny curl of the lips type smiles. Like what Rude does behind Reno's back when he's done something silly, or like the ones that pass between him and Tseng when Reno and Rufus is doing something together. What I would call a secretive smile. Like only you or maybe someone you smile that way at, knows or shares a secret." He came around the desk once more and sat down, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees looking intently at Claudia. "Just after that he started coughing but I saw something."

"Ah," Claudia nodded at the description of the smile. She had caught Rude smiling that way towards Reno a few times herself so she knew what he was talking about. "What did you see?" she asked, hearing the underlying request to ask about what he saw.

"A glimmering green and yellow. It was a strange glimmer, like it was lit from within." His blue eyes bore into Claudia's.

"Materia," she said.

"Yes," he replied back standing up again, this time to lean against the desk with his arms crossed over his chest, one ankle casually crossed over the other. "When I was forced to return to the main tent, I found out that the order was given to hunt Fox down because of it. Why?" he asked before dropping his arms, palms slapping against the desktop. "Why?" he demanded to know.

Claudia closed her eyes, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose before letting out a sigh. "That's a fairly loaded question Titus. Why was the order given for him to be apprehended? Why did he use it to heal your hand? Why was he in possession of illegal materia in the first place?" She leaned back in the chair, crossing her legs as she studied the young man before her. "I cannot say honestly Titus. Yes I can guess, I can theorize and I can speculate, but none of those would be the real answer. Or even an answer you are looking for. But let me ask a why of my own. Why do you care? Why do you care if this person you only meet for a few moments today was being hunted down by Shin-Ra? And yes before you say anything I do realize that I used the words 'Hunted down' like he was some type of dangerous animal or wanted criminal."

Titus opened his mouth several times to speak just to close it again as he thought about it. Staring at the floor he wondered indeed why did he care?

Neither spoke, the silence of the room only disturbed by the muffled voices of passing Med-techs. The ticking of the old fashioned clock creating a harmonious counterpoint to the silence.

Titus finally looked up. "Why do I care?" he repeated her question to him. "I care because in that moment, in that very instant I looked up, I felt as if he was looking at me. Looking through me even, and had seen me for who I am. Not Titus, the clone of Rufus. Not Titus ShinRa, the younger brother of Rufus ShinRa, Director of Shin-Ra. Not Titus ShinRa, the possible hostage and instrument of revenge against all the wrongs that Shin-Ra did in its past. And not The One, Property of Malcolm." His mouth twisted in a bitter sneer at his own words before he replaced it with an open, honest one while placing his hand over his heart. "I felt as if he was looking at Me. Titus the 17 year old who has no clue as to who or what he is, the teen who has experienced too much of the bad the world has to offer and too little of the good. It was like he was seeing me for the person I am whereas everyone else, either purposely or unintentionally, only sees me as a reflection of someone or something else. You asked why and that is my reason why I care." He reached up and rubbed the heels of his hands against his eyes. "Fuck, I'm crying," he muttered softly to himself.

Claudia stood up, putting the legal pad down on the desk along with the pen then pulled Titus into a hug. "Nothing to be ashamed of sweetheart," she said softly, brushing his hair to the side from where it had fallen into his face. "It means you are as human as the rest of us." She pressed a soft kiss to his forehead in a motherly fashion then pulled him gently along to the small sofa that was tucked neatly out of the way in the back of the office.

Once she had the two of them settled she started speaking. "Now it's my turn to answer your question of why. It may take me a little bit to answer it, but I will do so. Now, first off do you know that possession of Materia is illegal now?" She waited till he answered, either verbally or non-verbally . "Do you know why it is now illegal?" This time he shook his head. "Way back, before Rufus took over as Director of Shin-Ra, his (and yours) farther was director. Now he didn't have the well being of the planet in mind. All he wanted was money and power. Well under his employment were several individuals who were of like mind. Between all of them they did great harm to the planet. So much so that in the end it took special people to help get everything back on track once more. Several years later a terrible disease started to appear. It affected everyone in some way. It was then that a trio of individuals tried to cause even more harm to the people as well as to the planet again. Once more that group of special people helped put a stop to the trio. In fact, you may have met one or two of them." She knew she was glossing over a lot of history and facts, but at the moment just the concepts were important. She knew that he was inquisitive enough to either ask or go looking in the right direction to find the truth. That is if he was allowed to do so by Rufus. "Anyways, after that possession of Materia was banned. The first year after the law was enacted was a grace period. Anyone who had it was and was willing to give it up, was given something in exchange for it. Sometimes money, sometimes items in return and even in a few cases, full pardons for any crimes that had been committed against Shin-Ra in the years before Rufus took over." Once again she waited for Titus to digest all that she had said before she continued her explanation.

"Ok," Titus nodded his head in understanding.

"So now here is this person, Fox, who shows up out of the blue after almost a decade with Materia in his possession. He then uses it on several people, all of whom are employed by or a part of Shin-Ra. We, rather I should say Shin-Ra, is concerned in what that could mean. We want to know why he has it, how he got it and what he plans on doing with it. You see, to get Materia, one has to have access to Mako since in essence Materia is extremely condensed Mako. To get Mako means someone has harmed or is harming the Planet again and your brother is trying to prevent that from ever happening again."

He slowly nodded his head as the pieces of information was coming together, giving him a better understanding of the overall picture. "So..we have to find Fox in order to find out if he is planning something bad."

"Right you are. But we also want to find out if maybe he was a victim of something bad himself. That way we can see if we can, if not correct it, then perhaps make it easier to deal with. But I'm afraid that with the way he reacted to me as a doctor that he has been badly hurt by someone in a position of power or trust and that he's afraid of being hurt again." She pulled Titus close once more, giving him a one-armed hug before letting him go again. "So, do you understand better why we want to apprehend him?"

Once again Titus studied the information he now had before speaking. Once he had a better understanding he wasn't quite as upset about it as he had been earlier. Though he didn't like it he had a better understanding of his brother's orders. "I don't like it anymore then I did earlier, but I think I understand it better. If Fox is planning on doing something bad, we can stop him before he does too much. And if he is the victim we can try and help him, but either way he has to be caught first." His expression changed slightly as another thought made itself known. "That's why you want to check me over as well. You knew something had happened and you want to be sure nothing bad or harmful has been done to me in turn."

"Right you are. So now that we have everything sorted out for the time being, let's go get those scans done. I'd also like to do some blood work to compare before and after also. Just to be on the safe side."

Titus nodded as he got up from the couch. "After that's done can I see Uncle Trenton?"

Claudia laughed softly. "I don't see why not. So let's get things started." She let the youth out of the office and towards the area where the testing would be done.


	15. Chapter 15

(A/N - I point the finger of blame at FF7:DoC which I finally got around to playing, therefore it poked the muses in the rump and got em moving for a little bit.)

**((A/N 2: Just correcting a timeline error in chapters. Nothing new.))**

**~15~**

Once Reno had turned a corner and was out of site of Claudia and Titus, he pulled his phone out of his pants pocket. He stared at the inoffensive object for several moments before flipping it open. His fingers moved along the keypad with ease as he entered a number then hit dial. After a few rings the phone was answered.

"Hello Reno, what can I do for you?"

"Yo little sis, heard you got stuck office side and thought I'd cheer ya up some," Reno said as he found a spot along the corridor where he could see anyone coming from either direction. "If ya can, wana come down ta have a friendly chat with me & Claudia?"

"Hmm don't know. I'm a little busy at the moment."

Reno chuckled. "Tell ya what, I'll make it worth your wild."

"Oh really? How so?"

"Got some nifty pics thanks to Rude. I'm sure he'd love for you to see them," he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively even though Elena couldn't see it through the phone.

"Pictures? Come on Reno, you'll have to do better than that."

"Did'ja catch this afternoon's little adventure?"

"Hhmm... maaaybe."

"What if I said I have up close pictures of one of the one's involved in this afternoons adventures."

"Oooohhh?"

The redhead knew he had peaked her interest. "Umm hmmm. Gotta bring a data cable though since they're on my phone right now." He nodded to Claudia and Titus (Silly was the kid's ever present shadow) as they rounded the corner heading for the labs, pushing off the wall he was leaning against to slowly follow the pair.

The sound of a huffed sigh came from the phone's speakers. "Damn you Reno, you know just the way to get me interested. I need to finish up first. Give me about 20-30 minutes?"

The redhead grinned. "No prob little sister. It's gonna take that long for Claudia to run the scans on Titus anyways."

"OK Reno, see you in 30." Elena didn't bother waiting on his reply, just hung up.

"Tch! Coulda waited ta see if I wanted any snacks or drinks, yo," he muttered as he closed the phone and returned it to it's customary place. In truth, he doubted he'd be able to eat anything and his drink of choice would be a high proof alcohol. Closing his eyes a moment he let a shudder run down his spine at the memory of what was on those pictures. Sweet Shiva he needed a cig suddenly! With a glance around to determine his location. "Damn," he muttered ignoring the glance Claudia sent his way over her shoulder. "where.. ah-ha!" He pulled a small object no bigger than one of Rufus's fancy pens, out of a pocket. Since he wasn't allowed to smoke in the medical area (and a lot of other places in the complex) he'd just have to vape instead. Once the nicotine hit his system he calmed down a bit more. When Reno caught up to the other two, Claudia was directing Titus to a side room to change into some medical scrubs for the scans.

"Still looking for the perfect juice?" the medic asked as she took the datapad offered to her by the assistant and looked over the list. Nodding she handed it back to the Medic in charge of the scanners.

"Naa... Already got that," he grinned and winked at her.

She had to laugh at his reply. "I mean for your e-cig silly boy."

Placing a hand over his heart he gave her a mock look of shock. "Forsooth! Remove your mind from the gutters woman. Of course I was talking about my e-cig."

The blonde medic just raised an eyebrow. "Riiiight." She then turned towards the door as it opened and Titus stepped out of the side room. "All ready?"

The young man nodded and followed the assistant. "Stay," he ordered Silly as the mutt started to follow him into the main room. A few moments later he was settling himself on the bed/table.

"Just remember sir, normal even breaths."

Titus nodded, taking a few deep breaths then closing his eyes and relaxing as much as he was able to.

The assistant gave a thumbs up, then exited the room.

While waiting on the scans, a multitude of topics were touched on, including electronic cigarettes (commonly called e-cigs or vaping). The assistant's partner was looking to quit smoking but due to the stress of his job stopping cold was out of the question. Reno was helpful with his advice and Claudia backed him up.

With the slow but sure ban of smoking in many places, including some public areas of the city, alternatives were created. The most popular (and so far the healthiest of choices outside of quitting) was vaping. Nicotine was still ingested just as with normal smoking, but additional flavors were added while the tar and other harmful aspects had been removed. The original inventor was making a nice profit even with smaller businesses moving into the sector. Regulatory laws were slowly being implemented as well concerning the ingredients of the e-cig juice, how it could be marketed and of course, age requirements as well.

A few beeps announced the end of the scan process. The assistant excused herself and went to assist Titus off the bed/table.

Once he was dressed again, Titus joined Reno and Claudia in the control room. "May I visit Uncle Trenton now?" The two adults exchanged brief glances then nodded. "Thank you," he said as he departed, Silly once more a shadow at his side.

"I'll come get you once I talk with Ru," Reno said as he waved the boy goodbye. As he was waiting on Claudia, his phone buzzed with an incoming message. Pulling it out he glanced at the message, blinking. "change of plans," was all he said as he looked up at Claudia was was looking at her own message.

"Indeed."


	16. Chapter 16

**((A/N: Just correcting a timeline error in chapters. Nothing new.))**

~16~

Reno glance around at the other people seated at the conference table. Starting on his left, at the lower half of the table was heads of Research and Science. Then came Rude's empty chair, which indicated that either there was no time to call him back from his assignment, or it was deemed too important to abort. To his right, at the head of the table was Rufus in his luxury presidential office chair. Directly across from Reno was Tseng, phone held to his ear, and across from Rude's chair was Elena. To the right of the petite blonde sat Claudia as representative of the TURK branch of Medical. Then came the head of Shin-Ra Medical as well as the head of the Archive Department.

The redhead looked at the large screen at the end of the table then back at Rufus and Tseng. Some major shit must have hit the fan he thought as he looked around once more.

Tseng nodded once to Rufus before activating the large screen.

When it came to life, once side showed a room filled with displays, people moving back and forth with a purpose, and the prominent WRO symbol on the back wall. The other half of the screen showed the interior of a large command tent, a plain camp table and chairs with several laptops taking up the middle of it, the backs of a small group of people could be seen leaning over the table. From the way the walls alternately billowed outwards then shrank in towards the center there must have been one hell of a wind storm going on.

"Mr. Tuesti Sir! President ShinRa is conferenced in now," spoke a young sounding aide off screen.

"Thank you Mazher," Reeve said as he moved on screen. "Good evening President Rufus, I apologize for the abruptness of this request. I only learned of the issue myself, less than hour ago." Even though both men were on a first name basis, Reeve kept the call professional. It was only in face to face, personal meetings that they went by first names.

Rufus inclined his head a fraction in acknowledgement. "Mr. Tuesti, please start from the beginning."

"Of course. Ten days ago, a man arrived at Rocket Town and collapsed. The town doctor was unable to determine the cause of the man's problems and immediately contacted the WRO. A fully trained medic and support crew were dispatched. The man in question was diagnosed with full blown Mako poisoning. He survived only a few days after the team arrived. There was also reports of an increase of monster sightings by the locals of the region. The number of deaths due to attacks are still unknown at this time." Reeve glanced off screen a moment then accepted several papers handed to him. A frown marred his normally pleasant expression. "Thank you," he murmured to an aide off screen. "Correction, we have a tally of known deaths now. The current total is 28, which includes several families as well as individuals."

Rufus shifted his eyes slightly taking in the varied reactions of his people. Those that were TURKs had very little in the way of reactions. Those that were not TURKs, and thus never truly seen the dark side of Mako poisoning and the monsters it could create, held horrified looks. "Continue please," he said after several seconds.

"Yes..." Reeve cleared his throat then proceeded on. "The team called in for backup, including anyone with experience in dealing with monsters. The secondary team was able to finally back track where the man came from. At this point I believe it would be better to hear the rest of the report from the Team involved." The WRO leader turned his head slightly to look at a secondary screen. "Commander Valentine?"

The redhead arched an eyebrow and gave a look at Tseng, " 'Commander Valentine'?" he mouthed silently.

Tseng just returned the look that said he was equally uninformed about that little bit of information.

On the other half of the screen, one of the group around the table looked up at the camera then over to another figure. "Commander Valentine, Sir, camera is live."

A dark haired figure stepped around the table approaching the remote camera with it's accompanying display screen. "Really Reeve, did you have to make me a commander?" the person grumbled as he came into view. Long midnight black hair kept back with a blood red headband, pale skin and unique crimson hued eyes under a fringe of black and a high band of slightly brighter red covering the lower part of his face completed the look. What was missing though was the trademark red cloak. In its place was a high collared black trench coat.

"Sorry Vincent," Reeve said with a half smile.

"No your not," Vincent said back with a disgusted tone before looking at rest of the people involved with this fiasco. "ShinRa, TURKS."

"Mr. Valentine," Rufus replied back. "I doubt this is a good evening for you." A simple statement even if understated.

Reeve cleared his throat, "Vincent, could you please tell President ShinRa what you reported to me earlier?"

"Hnn," he reached up with his right hand to pinch the bridge of his nose a moment before making his report (a second time). "Yesterday, at 1935hr local time, while on the search sweep for possible open Mako source, my team discovered an abandoned base. One not affiliated with either the WRO or Shin-Ra. Every person we came across had been dead at least a week. The freezing conditions have kept the bodies from decaying and/or mutating. Plenty of signs of monsters having been in the area but all those we came across were already dead as well. A dozen or so of Chocobo were penned up in the base as well as a white cuahl female. We also found a small but active Mako well. It looks like whomever this group was, built their base on a natural well then expanded it."

"Fuck!" Reno muttered under his breath. The non-TURK members were much louder in their exclamations.

"What is being done about the base and the open well?" Rufus asked.

Vincent looked at Rufus before looking at the TURK Director. "The base itself is built half-way into the hillside. We've caged the cuahl and she's due to be shipped out to the closest Zoo or reserve. The Chocobos will also be relocated to a more suitable area. AS for the rest, once it's stripped of everything we're going to be setting of demolition charges to both cap the well and collapse the hillside to prevent anyone from being able to access it." He made several subtle gestures as he spoke.

Tseng sat up a little straighter, eyes narrowing. "Repeat that please, out loud if you don't mind."

The gunslingers expression changed minutely, "There are indications that the base belonged to the Silver Talons."

"Who?"

"The Silver Talons," Tseng replied. "An organization that was supposedly destroyed." He leaned back in his chair, elbows on the armrest, hands steepled before him. "It seems if that information was wrong." To say Tseng was not pleased was a gross understatement. 'Meeting asap TURK important info' he sent back.

The redhead tilted his head to the side in a silent question. In return he received a negative reply followed by 'later more info.' He shifted and looked away once more signaling acceptance mixed with annoyance. Typical Reno.

Reeve chose this moment to speak up again. "Shall I presume you wish to take over the investigation President ShinRa?"

"Yes."

The WRO leader wasn't happy but he wasn't unhappy either. The WRO did not have the resources to deal with some hereto unknown group the way that Shin-Ra did. "I presume you want everything transfered to your custody, including corpses, chocobos and the cuahl?"

The blond just quirked his lips up in a smirk. "Everything."

"Everything? Well in that case..." his lips twitched up in a smug grin. "Commander Valentine, I'm appointing you liason to Shin-Ra in this matter. Gentlemen, Ladies, I hope this matter hasn't completely ruined your evening. Good Bye President ShinRa, I'll try to keep in touch incase you need me for anything." With that, he signaled off screen to have the connection cut. To both groups.

It was a rare look of surprise that crossed Vincent's face before he voiced his displeasure. "WHAT!? Reeve.. damn it someone get his ass back on the li-" the connection terminated suddenly.

Reno leaned back in his chair and started to snicker. "I'd say someone is in deep trouble for that."

"Reno..." Tseng warned softly before turning to Rufus. "Orders Shachou?"

The president of Shin-Ra leaned forward, elbows coming to rest on the surface of the table, hands clasp together as he tapped his bottom lip in thought. "Maximillian, search the archives for any and all information on the Silver Talons. I know a large amount of the older archives was lost in Meteor Fall but see what you can do."

"Yes Shachou," the Archive department head stood, bowing slightly then left.

"Edwards, full autopsies and reports for each and every body brought in. Share your findings with Elena and Claudia."

The head of Medical stood and bowed, "As you wish Shachou. I'll start prepping now incase there's anything additional I'll need."

"Thorpson."

The Science department head looked up, "Necropsies, full reports go to Elena and Claudia. See if we can discover if these are new monsters or just old ones already know about."

Rufus just smiled. It was a pleasure having people who knew what the fuck they were doing without having to worry about over the top egos.

"Reno, you're on security."

"Got it, yo." Already the redhead was mentally mapping out what steps he'd need to set up to prevent any possible viruses slipping into the ShinRa systems. Complete and total isolation with it's own subnetwork.

"McArthy," Rufus turned to look at the remaining member. "Try and figure out what they were up to."

The Research head nodded, bowed and left the room.

"What about Rude?" Reno finally asked.

Tseng tilted his head to the side just slightly. "The timings too convenient. He stays on the target for now," he got an unhappy sigh from the redhead.

"Well since I have to wait around I'll see if Maxi needs a hand," Elena chirped with a smirk before standing up. "Good night Sir," she nodded to Tseng, then Rufus. "Shachou, don't let him work too hard." She grinned rather cheekily before strolling out.

Claudia let out a soft laugh. "Anyone need me at the moment? No? Alright, I'll see if Edwards or Thorpson needs a hand. Good night Shachou, Sir." She departed as well.

Only the two half-brothers and the Wutian were left, the vid system shut down, all outside and inside links terminated. "So.. Ru... mind if Titus crashes at my place tonight?"


	17. Chapter 17

****((A/N: Just correcting a timeline error in chapters. Nothing new.))****

**~17~**

The sun had set some time ago, the moon was well on the rise and the temperature had once more dropped reminding those still out that Shiva still ruled even though the beginning of spring was not far off. Rude wished that he had his good coat but knew that it would never have fit in with the mission, he was glad though that he was at least sheltered. His more pressing concern was that the young man, Fox, was still unconscious and had not shown any sign of regaining consciousness anytime soon. The only indication (if it could be called that) was the ghostly glow of the orbs that could have well been a trick of the eye. Earlier he had snuck out and picked up a couple extra bottles of water as well as acquiring a bottle of cheap rot-gut booze, half of which he dumped out. He also was resourceful enough to grab some scraps of paper and wood from one of the dumpsters so that he could start a small fire.

It was in the early hours just before dawn when Fox started to come around. Rude was propped up against a wall, the flames of the tiny fire throwing a warm glow across his exposed skin as he kept watch. He learned a long time ago how to rest without falling asleep while on a mission. The bald TURK shook off his lethargy as he reached up to rub his face, shifting his battered shades to the top of his head and scratching at the fuzz on his chin as he did. His vigilance was rewarded moments later. Tendrils of green energy emerged from the coat sleeve curling up one arm like a living creature searching for something, small arcs of ethereal blue lightning rippled across the dark surface of the coat. Rude didn't move from his position since he didn't know what would happen if he disturbed whatever was going on and he didn't want to end up injured. Having seen material in use before, this whatever it was, was nothing like his previous experiences. If anything he'd have to describe it as a near malevolent feeling emanating from the green tendrils of energy. It was like watching a snake slither up then slowly warp its coils about its prey then slowly constricting until the victim was struggling in the final throws of death. It was made all the more eerie thanks to the firelight.

The velvet darkness was shredded by green bale-fire as Fox was harshly ripped from unconsciousness. Back arching as he reacted to the stinging of electricity coursing over his body reawakening injuries old and new alike. The green tendrils were wrapped tightly about Fox's throat, until he was gasping for breath and clawing at the energy leaving bloody furrows which quickly closed leaving flawless skin behind. If he had the breath he would have been shrieking in pain from the amount of torment his body was being put through. Every nerve ending felt as if it was being frozen then burned only to be refrozen once more. If he had been allowed to flee once more into unconsciousness it would have been a blessing, but instead he was forced to stay conscious throughout. The green tendrils turned to a clinging mist covering his mouth and nose thus causing him to inhale it like a man drowning sucking in water instead of air. When it was finally done and over with he barely managed to roll over before he started vomiting up a blackish-green tar like substance.

"Yo kid, you ok there?" Rude asked dropping into the persona of a down on his luck homeless man, before sloshing the paper bag wrapped bottle then taking a drink. He would have killed for one of the red-head's family labels, didn't matter which either after tasting the rot-gut swill he'd picked up. The TURK winced when the young man spooked like a wild chocobo, scrambling back across the concrete floor to crouch against the farthest wall, knocking the tinted glasses askew in the process to reveal molten silver-green eyes. It was more then a little freaky to see how the tiny orange-yellow flames reflected in this strange eyes. "Whoa there. Take it easy kid. I ain't gonna hurt ya," he said holding his hands up in a placating manner but otherwise not moving. He knew from experience to move slow and speak softly around someone that was reactive, armed and quite possibly very dangerous if mishandled. "You want something to drink?" he asked. "Got this," he sloshed the brown paper wrapped bottle, "And I got some water here somewhere. Snagged a few extra bottles from the mess tent at that Shin-Ra whore mongering shit yesterday." He never took his eyes off where Fox was as he reached down to search his coat pockets for the bottled water.

Fox's eyes tracked every single movement the man made because it mattered little to him how dim the light was, he could see quite well right now. At the moment there was no indication that the man was going to do anything more then look for the water he claimed he had, but that didn't mean he could relax just yet. Shifting he flexed his fingers,taloned nails scrape against the concrete floor as he did, to better positioning himself for flight if it was needed. He also continued to shy away from admitting to any physical changes he'd undergone until those changes became completely indisputable, irrefutable and irreversible.

"Here kid," Rude said pulling out a water bottle and offering it to the young man. When it wasn't taken, he make the gesture of tossing the bottle to the other to indicate his intentions. The bottle landed with a thud of liquid filled plastic, a little more then a body length from Fox where it then rolled to the left until it came to a stop on its own. "Go on kid, I ain't gonna try no nothing against ya," he said. He couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit guilty for butchering his speech pattern, even if it was for a good cause. He inclined his head as he watched Fox slowly creep forward from out of the darkness, the flames from the tiny fire creating flickering shadows against the wall. The sudden image of Elena sitting on the edge of a couch in a darkened room watching some old horror flick came to mind causing him to start chuckling suddenly.

When the man started to chuckle Fox froze then retreated quickly back out of the range of fire light. Silent as a shadow he moved so that he was no longer directly across from the older man.

Rude realized what he had done when Fox vanished. "Wait, wasn't laughing at you kid," he explained sitting up and looking around. "This whole thing just reminds me of a gal I use ta know. Silly broad use ta watch old horror flicks in a dark room. Use ta sneak up on her and scare the piss outta her when I worked with her." He felt someone, Fox he presumed, move up on his left hand side but kept himself from reacting just yet.

"You mean like this?" asked a smoke and velvet voice that held a hint of amused curiosity.

When Rude turned to face the voice he was eye to eye with those strange molten silver-green eyes. Though instead of reacting with mock fear/surprise he reacted with a highly developed combat reflex. He tossed the bottle of swill at Fox then quickly followed with a combo of pulled punches. Ignoring how easy it was to physically overpower Fox, he concentrated on keeping the kicking, clawing and biting (not to mention growling and squirming) hellion from doing any lasting damage to his hide! After several minutes of struggling he ended up straddling Fox's hips with his feet pinning down his legs, both wrists firmly in his grasp and damned near face to face. The fear and panic was clearly seen in Fox's eyes even though he had an expression of desperate anger. "Whoa kid, calm down! Ya just surprised me. Don't mean anything by it." Rude had to jerk his head back out of the way of snapping teeth. "You snuck up on me kid and I reacted like I'd been trained to do." He bounced several times, getting several breathless grunts in return. "Just calm yo skinny white ass down kid and I'll let you go. You cool with that or you gonna go freaky-skitzo on me again?"

Fox grunted again before nodding then shaking his head in reply. He'd never been good at close range fighting, at least not unless he went feral like earlier, preferring medium to long ranged combat. No combat situations where he could use his sneak-thief talents were even better to his mind. And he didn't want to tangle with this man again anytime soon either. Not unless he had a chance to sneak attack and land some disabling blows first that is. Once the older man had gotten off of him he just lay there for several moments trying to regain his breath.

"Shit kid, I threw my bottle of booze at ya. Shiva's tits what a waste," he groused more to himself then to Fox as he picked up the alcohol soaked brown bag filled with broken glass. "It ain't the best but it was all I had. Ah hell with it stuff was like rot gut , Aloyshus R Atherton IV kid. Interesting to meet ya," he said offering his hand to help Fox up off the ground. "Al for short, haven't been called Aloyshus since I was a kid and I hated being called that when I was working for that fat bastard Shin-Ra."

Fox was more then leery of anyone who works for or use to work for ShinRa. Something about them reminded him a bit too strongly of what he left behind. He looked at the hand for several seconds before tentatively lifting his hand to accept it. Once back on his feet he quickly moved out of Al's reach.

Rude pulled Fox to his feet with ease, noticing once more how lightweight the young man was. For someone of his height and build he should have weighed within 20 to 40 pounds of his own weight, but if Fox weighted more then one hundred pounds he'd be surprised. Locating his battered old shades, he slid them into his coat pocket for the moment then made sure his few items were gathered up before stomping out the dwindling fire. "A little earlier then I like to be out and moving, but might as well since it's almost crack-ass of dawn. I can hit the hiring joints for a day's wages but don't feel like putting up with shit from little mighty-tighty white assed punks. How 'bout you?" he asked as he unbuckled his belt then let down his fly so he could piss out the remaining embers. "That reminds me kid, what's your name? Can't keep calling you Kid all the time."

Fox had located his own shades and slid them into place as the older man continued to make mouth noises. Most of which he let filter though his mind on automatic as he moved to glance around a corner. When he turned back around he wrinkled his nose at the combined smell of urine that had been flash boiled into steam and wet ashes. Snorting to get the smell out of his nose for the moment he held his sleeve over his face. Should he tell him about Lost and Found or not mention the place? It wasn't his place to say who could or could not stay there. Besides if Frank or Maggie refused then so be it. Blowing out a sigh he jerked his head towards the exit of the building. "Lost and Found."

"Huh? What you mean 'lost and found'?" he asked as he tucked himself back in his pants, closing them up and buckling his belt. He remembered the teens had a design on the back of their jackets that said "Foundlings" airbrushed across the top of it.

"Stay or follow. Your choice." Turning he headed out.

"If I can get a decent cup of coffee and a hot meal, hell yeah I'll follow!" Rude said as he followed Fox out. "Besides you ain't told me what I can call ya yet."


	18. Chapter 18

**((A/N: Just correcting a timeline error in chapters. Nothing new.))**

**~18~**

As many times as Rude had crossed the city going from one location to another while working, he never fully realized just how large of an area the place covered. Even when he was a rookie just starting out patrolling one of the seven sectors when Midgar was in it's glory, it was only a small area of the city in total. When Midgar fell and Edge took it's place, he always drove or was ferried in some way from one place to the next. Walking it gave him a whole new perspective of what the common people who didn't own personal means of transportation faced. He didn't think he ever walked this much even as a kid growing up inJunon . It was a blessing he was in such good shape, otherwise his covered just might have been blown by huffing and puffing after walking so much.

Fox on the other hand was use to walking everywhere. He knew the basic principles of how to drive but never had much chance to put that knowledge to work. The few times that he did, he was quickly ousted from the drivers seat as someone with much greater knowledge and experience took over. What he was running into was the fact that suddenly everything stank so much worse then before. Yes back alleyways had an odor all their own depending on what buildings emptied out into them, but this was worse then he'd ever experienced before. At first he didn't think anything of it when he led Al though the first few alleyways since the businesses in question were offices and such. It was when they hit an alley that was connected to a half dozen eateries, fast food joints and hole in the wall restaurants that he started gagging and heaving from the smells. It was either drop to his knees or fall flat on his face so he chose the former over the later.

When Rude moved into the alley he coughed at the smell emanating from the dumpsters on either side. "Shit," he muttered as he covered his nose and mouth at the smell. "If it smells this bad during the winter then I sure don't wanna be around in high summer!" Jogging the last few feet to come even with Fox he crouched down next to the younger man. "Stinks bad enough to gag a maggot around here don't it? You OK kid?" he asked in some concern as the sound of retching continued.

With every indrawn breath the over-powering stench caused him to heave, robbing him of life giving oxygen which then forced him to once again drawn in the rancid air into his lungs that set him off in the first place. Black spots danced before his eyes as he struggled to regain his footing so that he could escape the alley. He heard the words but could give none in reply. Instead he shook his head, gesturing to the open end of the alley as he tried to go that direction.

Rude figured out pretty fast that Fox was wanting out of the alley as soon as possible. Grabbing one of his arms he threw it over his shoulder and looped his own well muscled arm around the slimmer man's waist. "Good thing youaint got anything else to upchuck kid. Don't care to have spew all over me. Someone else's or my own." Standing up he hauled the lighter man to his feet. "Here kid," Rude said, grabbing the edge of Fox's scarf and hauling it up over his nose and mouth, "that might help somewhat." He wished he had a scarf of his own to try and block out the stench. 'Shit places like this are a ticking time bomb,' he thought to himself, 'Mental note: Department for Disease Control, Health Inspectors and Waste Management. These damned dumpsters need to be emptied daily if possible, every other day at least instead of weekly. This place is a damned potential breeding ground for some pretty nasty diseases.' The pair finally exited the alley at the other end, Rude stumbled as Fox's legs gave way once more. He settled the lighter male against the wall of the building they came out next to making sure that his head was between his knees at the moment before looking around. He spotted a phone booth not far away and decided to see if it had a phone book, wouldn't help to find out what or where this 'Lost and Found' was.

The early morning rush of office workers scurrying off to their tiny little cubicles, mothers herding small children off to school or daycare, pre-teens and teens heading off to school, the elderly out for a morning walk and delivery men making their morning deliveries created a unique obstacle course in reaching the phone booth and the phone book within. Every few steps he was having to stop or dodge the rush of people. "Get a job ya stinking bum!", "No no, it's not polite to point at the less fortunate people sweetheart.", "Watch it buddy.", "On you poor dear, here you go." In crossing just under a car length of concrete he'd been insulted, stared at, almost ran over and then given enough money for a cup of coffee and a sandwich. Shaking his head he mentally compared it to a day with a bunch of newbie TURKs applicants (or a day with a very hyper, very energetic Reno). Chaos, pure and simple.

Finding 'Lost and Found' was rather anti-climatic. Turned out there was a home made flier with the address and a phone number on it cut into strips to make it easier. "Oh for the love of the Gods," Rude muttered as he tore off one of the strips and exited the phone booth. He made the return trip a little easier since the flow of humanity had slacked off for the moment. At first he thought that Fox had up and vanished when he didn't spot the younger man. When he got closer he found instead a small group of teens surrounding Fox. A lot of trash talk was going on as well as some pushing and shoving. He was about to step in and bust some heads when he felt the seductive mental caress of Manipulate materia being used. The talk as well as the pushing and shoving died down as the teens stilled their movements. 'Shit kid, don't do it. Just ignore the little punks,' he thought to himself as he got closer to hear just what Fox was doing.

"I'm not worth your time, why don't you find something more productive to do," Fox said softly. The tale-tell glow of blue and green materia both muted in the morning light and hidden in his sleeves. "Why don't all of you head on to school and put that extra energy to use. I bet your all pretty smart, so why don't you prove to your teachers that you're worth the time and effort they put in. Prove to the world that your better then everyone thinks..." With each word he spoke he kept mentally reinforcing his words, encouraging the teens to move on and head off to school and to prove that they were indeed worth the time and effort of the teachers. It didn't take very long before the group was walking away talking amongst themselves and boasting to each other. Closing his eyes he let out his breath as he shook out his hands, flexing fingers that tingled as if they had fallen asleep and were starting to wake once more.

Rude was neither surprised nor impressed (after all he was a TURK), instead he was concerned at how easily Fox was able to use the Manipulate materia. Before everything that happened and when materia was both legal and common, Manipulate materia were still considered one of the harder magics to use. Just about anyone could use call Fire, Ice and Lightening to their bidding. Men were better with battle magics and females tended to be better with those related to healing and recovery. He could only remember seeing less then a handful of people using Manipulate with any success of keeping their targets enthralled while preventing anyone else from getting close enough to assist. "Yo kid, what did those punks want? What did you do to get rid of them?" he asked.

Fox glanced up a moment at the older man then shook his head slightly. "Nothing," he muttered as he straightened up. It took him a few seconds to find the street signs and mentally map where he was in comparison to where he wanted to go.

"Don't believe ya kid. You did something funny to those punks, I know ya did."

The younger man scowled slightly before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small crystal sphere. From another pocket he pulled out a plastic tab then slid it into a nearly invisible slot on the sphere. When he pulled it out, a soft whirring sounded from the crystal as inside of it tiny gears started the miniature gyroscope and lights flickered. Fluidly he weaved his hands back and forth causing the crystal to dance and float along his hands. "A simple parlor trick, the right pitch, timber and timing to your words and your audience is enthralled till you release them from it," Fox said before tossing up the crystal then catching it deftly to let it vanish into a pocket again. "That's all I did." He turned and headed off in the direction he needed to go.

'A neat trick and an easy enough explanation to those that are easy to fool, but utter dragon shit none the less,' Rude thought to himself as he grunted in seeming satisfaction. When Fox turned and started to weave his way through the stream of pedestrian traffic, Rude followed along behind with only a little difficulty. He mentally compared the two of them as he walked, if he was a guard beast then Fox was defiantly a cuahl beast. While both beast belonged to the same family and possibly the same genus they were not of the same species, even if they did look similar.


	19. Chapter 19

****((A/N: Just correcting a timeline error in chapters. Nothing new.))****

**~19~**

By the time the pair reached Lost and Found, the sun was making its way to the mid-morning position. Most kids (at least those old enough) were in school, or should have been and those that had the morning shift were several hours into them. While Fox went straight on in, Rude took a few moments to look the place over. The building was one of the ubiquitous ten story brick apartment buildings that could be found anywhere in the older portions of the city. The things that made it stand apart from the buildings on either side was the ramp that snaked back and forth on itself and the mural that covered most of the front two stories before fading into the dull grays of the building's exterior.

The mural was deceptively simple looking. A field of flowers covered about half the first story of the building, creating the perspective of walking into the mural. Light purples and pale pinks, baby blues and chocobo yellows flowers intermingled with the greens that ranged from the color of new spring grass to that of the deep forests. Ribbons of Lifestream threaded it's way from both sides before they twined themselves up the twin columns on either side of the doors, which were painted to look like a pair of wrought iron gates. On the left hand side of the doors a warrior leaned against the column, one foot propped against the marble and arms crossed. His battle scarred armor was of ancient design, covered in leaf and vine patterns. Even though his head was covered with a helmet one could tell by the tendrils of hair over his shoulders that he had dark haired. His expression, at least what could be seen under the half mask, was world weary and soul tired but welcoming. Standing opposite of the Warrior was a Healer (or was she a Priestess of the Ancients religion?). Wearing pale hued robes with the hood up, she had a sweet smile gracing her lips. A light brown rope of braided hair was draped down one shoulder and one hand held out in offer of welcoming as the other was placed over her heart. In the palm of her outstretched hand, a single pale lavender flower was gently cupped.

He stared at the mural for several moments before climbing the steps that lead to the doors. Whether or not he was accepted here at 'Lost & Found', he was going to have someone get some good quality photos of the mural. It was damned uncanny how the woman on the right reminded him of the Ancient that the psychotic crackpotHojo had had kidnapped once upon a time. Shaking his head to dislodge those thoughts, he opened the door and stepped inside.

The first area was a foyer, complete with mail boxes, message board covered in hand printed fliers and announcements, as well as several potted plants. One small door lead off to what might be a utility closet if he had to guess. The second set of doors, equipped with an automatic opener for those that needed assistance, was directly across from him and most likely lead into the rest of the building. Cautiously he opened the right hand door and looked in. To his immediate left was the stairs leading up to the upper floors. Just past the stairs was a small, open elevator. As he stepped fully into the room, he noted that the kitchen (he could see the counter tops and several appliances) was to the back and the rest was open area. Several long tables were set up and covered in various crafts or projects in uncompleted stages, surrounded by nearly a dozen people ranging from mid-20's on up to very elderly.

"Eh? Come on in sonny, we don't bite," one elderly male said, motioning with an arthritis swollen hand.

"Course we don't bite, ain't got any teeth left to bite with," cackled an equally elderly female before she rattled her jaws back and forth then stuck out her false teeth at her male companion.

A middle aged woman stood up with a sigh and a shake of her head. She headed in his direction. "Don't mind those two, they are always like that. Name's Maggie, how can I help you?"

Rude raised an eyebrow then shrugged slightly. "Al. Heard that this was a place to go if you needed a decent meal and a hot cup of coffee but didn't have the resources at the moment to pay for it." He offered his hand in a friendly greeting. "Plus I still ain't got that one's name yet," nodding in Fox's direction with a grin.

"That one?" she asked glancing at Fox.

As if sensing he was being talked about (honestly though he had heard them since neither were trying to be quiet) he glanced up at them from his curled up position on a chair. A feline had already claimed his lap while he sipped from a battered and chipped porcelain cup. His other hand was occupied by the demands of said feline. A second feline dragged his attention away from the two near the door as it demanded to also be given access to his person, obviously not caring that the lap in question was already occupied.

"Yeah," Rude nodded.

Maggie let out a soft bark of laughter. "That one is our resident mysterious wild child. He's never told anyone his name so one of the little one's ended up naming him Fox. Never made a fuss about it so it stuck." She eyed Fox once more then shook her head again. "I'm surprised he let you follow him back. Well follow me to get that cup of coffee at. If you think you can survive an hour, lunch will be ready. If not, Frank will be able to scrounge up something to tide you over."

"Yes ma'am. I survived this long so I should survive an hour," Rude said with a chuckle as he followed Maggie into the kitchen area.

The older woman 'hmmm'ed to herself as she opened one of the cabinets and pulled down a much abused cup. "Sugar and cream are on the counter if you want it," she told him handing him the cup. "This is Frank," she said in way of introduction to the wheelchair bound man. "Between the two of us, we own and run Lost and Found. Everyone that comes here gets a meal and one night's stay, no matter who they are. If someone is looking for a place to get back on their feet then this is a place that it can be done. All we ask is that you keep your self out of trouble with the local law. We don't tolerate laze-abouts. If you can't get a job due to medical reasons, then we ask that you help out around the neighborhood. There are also local temp agencies which recruit locally and pays good for one days work. Sometimes if there's a long term project you can get hired for the length of the project instead of just the day. From time to time companies will hire on the temp workers permanently if they are good or well liked."

Frank leaned back to look at Rude over the top of his reading glasses. "We don't care for druggies or boozers either. And if you even think about trying anything with the youngsters, your asking to have your balls removed from your personal possession. Age of consent and willingness are required. Either of those rules get broke..." Frank trailed off letting the implication stand.

"Heard loud and clear sir!" Rude said snapping off a salute.

Frank gave him a questioning look.

"Ex Shin-Ra. Got out just before the shit hit the fan years ago. Didn't leave on good terms neither. Been keeping a low profile and staying under the radar if and when possible," Rude elaborated.

Frank and Maggie exchanged looks then looked back at Rude. "Nothing that will come along and cause us any problems?" Frank asked as he looked back down at the papers on the lowered counter top.

"No Sir. Most that knew me back then are gone." (It wasn't a complete lie, but no where near the truth either) "I keep in contact with a few trusted friends but that's about the extent of it."

"Hmm," Frank nodded then looked up once more as he removed his glasses and put them away. "By any chance are you any good at cooking?"

"If you say yes, Gaia bless you child because no one else around here except me can cook a decent enough meal to save their lives!" Maggie exclaimed with a laugh as she picked up the papers, which turned out to be lunch and dinner recipes for the day.

Rude smiled. "How about this? I stash my stuff and get cleaned up then give you a hand. That way you can be the judge of how well I can cook?"

"Quick Frank, go find him a room and see to it while I start pulling everything out," Maggie said practically shoving Frank out of the kitchen and towards the lift after dropping a ring of keys into his lap.


	20. Chapter 20

((A/N: This was suppose to be a little side smut, but muses changed their minds at the last minute. Those who have read my other writings will recognize a couple of the OCs.. sorry I tend to recycle muses.))

~20~

"It's so dreamy, oh fantasy free me

So you can't see me, no not at all

In another dimension, with voyeuristic intention

Well-secluded, I see all.."

-_**Time Warp**_ by Little Nell,Richard O'Brien,Patricia Quinn

~~(line here)~~

The relationship between Reeve Tuesti and Vincent Valentine was a complicated one. They were both former members of AVALANCHE, they had been part of the team that took down Sephiroth, and were friends with the 'Saviour Of The Planet'. They were also friends, not just traveling companions or teammates, thanks to other events. The two of them shared the same sophisticated pleasures and tastes in bed partners. They had even been lovers once upon a time. But now they were just friends with fringe benefits. Reeve got what he desired and so did Vincent, just in a slightly different way.

The WRO Leader was walking a fine line when he made Vincent the Commander in charge of locating the mako source in a recent investigation. The man was a loner even if he did help out when needed. When he made the ex-TURK liaison between the WRO and Shin-Ra, he knew he had crossed that line but for all his intelligence, he didn't know how to correct his mistake. He also knew he was going to pay for it, just not to what extent.

Twelve days after his last contact with Vincent, Reeve's aide passed a request from President ShinRa's secretary for a meeting later that day. He read the request over then nodded, approving it. From there, the details were haggled out between the Aid and the Secretary. About twenty minutes before the appointed time, Reeve found himself waiting in a very plush private waiting room. Right on time, a TURK entered and beckoned for Reeve to follow him. He frowned slightly when he noted their direction of travel was not to President ShinRa's office. Instead they passed through several doors to stop in front of a private elevator.

"As punctual as ever Reeve," Rufus said in greeting as he approached the elevator, Tseng at his side as always.

Reeve smiled in greeting, "Indeed Mr. President.. Rufus," he corrected himself at the ever so slight lift of a blond eyebrow.

The doors opened with a swipe of a keycard and a press of a thumb. The TURK which escorted Reeve, entered the elevator first checking everything before nodding to Tseng.

"Thank you Chase," Rufus said as they entered the elevator.

This time it was Tseng who swiped a card through the reader, along with a code. He had yet to say anything.

After several long moments of silence, Reeve spoke up finally. "If I may ask, what's this all about?"

The blond let the corner of his mouth tilt up ever so slightly. "Mr. Valentine will be arriving shortly via Captain Highwind's Airship. At that time everything will be transferred to Shin-Ra custody. He requested that you be present."

"I.. er..." The WRO Leader was at a loss of words. "Oh hell..." he finally muttered.

A muffled cough came from the rear of the elevator car.

Reaching up he ran a finger around the collar of his long coat. "What I meant to say was.. umm… How upset is Vincent currently?"

Rufus crossed his arms over his chest, shifting his weight as he did. "I'm afraid that I can not supply you with that answer. You'll just have to ask Mr. Valentine yourself."

This time, it was Tseng who laughed softly at the expression on Reeve's face.

~~(line here)~~

Security was just as tight as always when Rufus was anywhere in public. Even though the landing field, maintenance bays, helicopter garages and warehouses was part and parcel of the Compound (just not directly attached to the main area inside the city), the same precaution was taken. Sunlight flashed ever so often from one of the men or women on duty on the roofs. Those that were pulling sniper duty, well only few well trained (or just plain in the know) knew where they were or one of the possible locations. Patrols on foot with guard beasts roamed around the outer perimeter as well as inside it. While up in the sky itself, the unique 'whomping' sound of helicopter blades slicing through the air as they made flyovers.

Coming in at a slow pace from the west-north-west a trio of airships under heavy escort/guard. At the helm of the main airship was Captain Cid Highwind. With a firm yet light hand he flew his pride and joy towards the designated landing area. The two airships that followed at an equally sedate seeming pace were piloted by experienced veterans of the DeepGround air attack. Their escorts were the best helicopter pilots Shin-Ra had. Reno was lead of escort group with the Highwind, with Morgan and Ari as leads of the other two airship escort groups.

The comm chatter between the helicopters and the airships were kept to a minimum for the most part. Constant updates flew back and forth, along with the occasional sarcastic and barbed comments.

"Shut the hell up ya fucking redheaded jaknap asswipe! I know what the fuck I'm doing. Been doing it longer then your scrawny ass's been alive. Now go fucking bug someone else ya prick!" Cid yelled into the comm as he scanned the gauges before looking over the rest of the bridge crew.

A snicker from Reno cut across the momentary silence.

Leaning against the wall behind the pilot, Vincent kept the pressure on the bridge of his nose as he took a deep breath then let it out again. "Chief, just ignore him, this job is almost over for you. And Reno, stop poking at Cid. For fuck sake you're a damned TURK. Act like the professional you're suppose to be."

"Whatever ya say old man, yo."

The silence continued for almost a minute before the next round of updates came across the comm.

"Why the hell you even doing this Vince?" asked Cid.

"Define 'this'"

"You know.. This.." the pilot waved his hand indicating everything to do with Shin-Ra. "They found something to force you into working with'em or what? I can always dump the cargo and haul ass out of Edge. Not'in they can do ta stop me." He didn't let anyone smoke on the bridge, including himself and he'd been craving one for the last hour since they got within contact range.

A rare smile crossed Vincent's lips at the crusty old pilot's version of concern. "No, if anyone it was Reeve that has caused me to work with Shin-Ra."

"Wha? What the fuck did he do? Ya never told me Vince. All I know is I got a request to haul shit from the middle of nowhere ta Shin-Ra over in Edge and low and behold I get you as part of the deal." Cid reached up and patted his pockets for something to chomp on. He didn't even have a pack of gum much less a toothpick on him. "Damn it all to hell," he muttered.

"He made me the Liaison between the WRO and Shin-Ra."

"Ifrit's hairy ballsack..."

"Hnn."

"Hey Highwind," Reno's voice cut across the comm chatter again.

"Wha ya want ya little punk?!" barked Cid.

"Got the unloading orders. Live cargo first, followed by the dead. Everything else after."

"Motherfucker!" Cid uttered rolling his eyes heavenward. "You fucks sure know how to screw up things don't ya?" he waved to the crewman at the comm station. "Get the other two on the horn and patch em in."

"Aye chief!" A moment later the thumbs up indicated they were patched in.

"Bluegrass."

"Aye Captain?"

"Jennifer."

"Sir?"

"Don't call me 'Sir' I work for a fucking living. Change of plans you two. Live cargo get's dropped first then the dead shit. I've got everything else so I'll be unloading last. Got that?"

"Yeeehaaw! I get to go home first," crowed the captain of the airship '_Mirage_'.

"Bite me you asshole," Jennifer, captain of the all-female crewed airship '_Sunset Seductions_', uttered. "Thank Gaia! These stiffs are giving me and my crew the creeps," she complained.

"Yer pay will be wired as soon as I get it. Highwind out." He gestured for the connection to be terminated between the airships. "Anything else?" he asked.

"Just that the manifesto and documents be there as shit's unloaded."

"Great.. will have to play shuffle-fucking-board then. Vince has the paperwork."

Vincent pushed off the wall so he could move to the front of the bridge viewport and look out. "Chief, drop us within fifty feet of the main building there," he said pointing to the one in question. "I'll drop down from there. Reno, inform the people on the ground. I'll be highly pissed off if I'm shot."

"Ya got it," Reno replied.

"Planet fucking Damnit Vince, I hate when you do that shit," Cid muttered.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Thanks for the smooth trip." With a small wave, Vincent left the bridge and headed for the cargo bay. One of the WRO members was waiting on him next to the smaller cargo door, which was standing open for him. He nodded to the WRO member then simply stepped out the door as if he was walking from one room to another. A tiny flex of power (thanks to Chaos, even if he was asleep once more) ensured a smooth landing on the roof of the building. His only acknowledgement of the sniper hidden there was that he didn't step on the person, instead he simply stepped over and dropped down off the roof.

Vincent absorbed the impact of his landing with a combination of an even tinier flexing of power as well as the bending of his knees. As soon as he had landed he was meet by a high ranking TURK and escorted to where Rufus, Reeve and company were currently located. The documents and manifests were handed over to the appropriate personnel to be scanned and documented before copied in quadruplicate and handed out to the supervisor in charge of the landings.

From the fortified observation post the group watched as the first airship, the _Mirage _captained by one Jason 'Bluegrass' O'Donald, landed where designated before it was swarmed by Shin-Ra personnel.

~~(line here)~~

Vincent was currently settled into a chair that was positioned close to, but not in, a corner of the room. A small table was positioned next to his left elbow with a carafe of coffee and a single cup sitting atop it. His crimson hued eyes scanning the contents of the data pad in hand. "How current is this information?" he asked.

"As of four years ago, when we held a Silver Talon operative, it was current." Tseng answered, eyes flickering from screen to screen momentarily, before they returned to the ex-TURK. From his position he was able to watch over Rufus and Reeve, keep an eye on everyone else in the room and still speak quietly with Valentine. "At the time, we were not in any position to commit to another confrontation against an unknown organization just for the sake of one young man. No matter how talented he was."

"I see," Vincent replied. His lips quirked up in amusement as he continued to read the initial reports of how the person in question first infiltrated then evaded capture until he was cornered and final detained. The video footage compiled from security cameras was proof positive of what the reports described, of the young man's skills. "Attempted to recruit him?"

"But of course." Tseng shook his head slightly. "Several times over his… stay. Unfortunately, the.. person… who claimed 'guardianship' over the young man held too much over him. From what was implied, the young man had his choice; return willingly to whatever was awaiting him…." Another scan of the room, the screens and the occupants. He noted the unloading of the second airship was in progress.

"Or?"

"Or he could continue to try and run, resulting in the possible deaths of associates. The young man's… guardian… also indicating his 2 year old daughter would pay the price of his refusal to return to the Silver Talons." The expression 'If Looks Could Kill' aptly fit the look Tseng saw flitter across the ex-TURK's face at that little piece of information. The very corner of his mouth curled up a micrometer as his eyebrow twitched.

Vincent was very careful of the delicate porcelain cup currently being held in his gauntleted left hand. With slow and deliberate care he placed the cup on the table then withdrew his hand, curling it tightly into a fist before placing it in his lap. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Galian was suddenly very awake and very much pissed off, but wasn't demanding to be let out so he could rip something (more like someone) apart, which was odd. Just as odd as the sense of '_wait...stop, go back!_' as he returned his attention to the datapad. This time the video had to have been from Rufus's office. He reversed the video till the feeling of '_stop_' and '_that one_' had him pause the video. The frame of the video was a close up of the young man's guardian. A blink had his eyes shifting from crimson to gold then back again. "I can confirm then, that this man, is indeed the leader of the Silver Talons. I… remembered…. a debriefing with Veld and several other. At the time this man had just become the leader. Apparently via overthrow of the previous leadership, including all secondary and tertiary command."

"Hmm…" Tseng frowned. That was not good news. "Do you remember anything else?" He left the '_that you are willing to share,_' unspoken.

Vincent thought about it for several minutes before he finally shook his head '_no_'. "Nothing else at the moment." He uncurled his left hand, flexing his fingers for a moment before once more carefully picking up the delicate porcelain cup and taking a sip. "Assignment accepted."


	21. Chapter 21

**~21~**

Two weeks had passed since Rude arrived at Lost and Found. He'd been able to refine his 'Al' persona a little more by cultivating a full (though thin) beard and getting better 2nd hand clothes. He also was able to get a 'part-time job' with the WRO as a demolitionist (the only thing that was real about that job was getting to play with the explosives) which allowed him to both be off more than he worked, (to keep an eye on Fox) as well as pass on money to Maggie and Frank.

Reeve Tuesti was known to call meetings every few days of project formans to assay the progress of said projects. It made it really easy to bring Rude in with the demolitions group so he could type up his reports to be sent in. The first two reports he sent in were via normal means of a special TURK courier. It was after he typed up the third report that he got a small surprise in the form of Vincent Valentine waiting in place of the normal courier.

"Valentine?"

"Rude." Vincent turned to look at Rude, an eyebrow rose in question.

The sound of a throat clearing caused both men to turn and look at Reeve. "Vincent, I'd like you to meet 'Al', he's a recent addition to the team."

"Ah," Vincent replied tilting his head to the side. "I see."

Rude frowned, shifting his weight as he tucked his hands into the pockets of the WRO jacket he was wearing. "Updates?"

"A great few," the gunman replied.

Reeve picked up a ruler off his work table and eyed the project plans. "Gentlemen, do I need to step out?" he asked. "Wait," he set the ruler down and started for the door, "don't bother answering. There is a few things I need to look into before the meeting. See you in twenty." And with that, he gone.

"Hnn.. asshole," the ex-TURK muttered at the closed door. "Background? Basics? Anything I need to know special?" With Reeve gone, Vincent was all business.

"Name's Al, ex Shin-Ra, got out before the shit hit the fan, lost some friends but still have a few about. Only just getting back on my feet thanks to the WRO projects. Currently living at a shelter called 'Lost and Found'. I pull kitchen duty, cooking mostly, on the days I'm not blowing up shit here." The Bald TURK let the corner of his mouth quirk up. "I make a mean ass casserole on Saturdays."

Crimson hued eyes narrowed in thought. "Good, I'll have to stop by this weekend to catch up seeing it's been years since I last time I saw 'Al'." He nodded slightly to himself, then crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the desk. "Found the Silver Talon base. No survivors except for some chocobos and a cuahl. Also found an open mako well. Took samples, striped the place of everything then blew the well as well as the base. It's buried under half a hill. Everything was transferred to Shin-Ra custody." He took a deep breath then let it out in a huff. "Tuesti made me liaison between WRO and Shin-Ra. Tseng requested I take this assignment due to some previous experience dealing with the Silver Talons. After due consideration I agreed."

Rude let out a low whistle. "That bad huh?" Outside assistance was highly unusual, but the fact that Valentine was ex-TURK, it made it even more so.

"Yes," Vincent shrugged then uncrossed his arms. "You'll be passing your reports onto me and I'll see that Tseng gets them." The sound of metal claws drumming on the desk was a soft counterpoint to the slight hissing whirr of the environmental systems. "Anything else?"

The large TURK pulled a hand out of his pocket as he scratched his chin in thought. "Currently living at the shelter is roughly eighteen people. Maggie and Frank, owner-operators, a young couple, both left a local gang and are trying to make a new life. Jamie, a special needs child. The foundlings, eight teens to pre-teens also under Maggie and Frank's care. A couple of elders with their live-in caregiver, myself and finally the target, Fox." Sweet Shiva did he want to shave so damned badly! "Not sure what would be best, you drop by early or last minute."

Vincent looked at the clock a moment. "Why?"

Rude followed the black haired man's look, also noting the time. "If you show early it may give Fox time to find an excuse not to be at dinner. If you come late, might not be anything left on the table. Shall we head to the meeting?"

Vincent nodded as he pushed away from the desk, a smirk crossing his lips.

Rude just shook his head.

Scratched into the surface of Reeve's rather expensive desk was the word "Asshole".

~~(break line)~~

When Rude and Vincent entered the conference room, the Demolition foreman waved Al over to their group. The bald TURK nodded then turned to Vincent, "Been great seeing ya again, gotta stop by where I'm staying to catch up on old times. It's called Lost and Found, a shelter over on the west side of the city." He patted Vincent's shoulder once before turning away to join his group.

Vincent moved up towards the front to lean against the wall where he had a clear view of the room.

A few moments passed before Reeve entered with an aide. "Good morning ladies and gentlemen," he said as he stopped in the front of the room right next to a podium. "Well today is the day people... Sara? If you would please."

The lights dimmed as a projector came to life showing an aerial view of Edge with the old ruins of Midgar off to the side. Each of the slides showed a progression of expansion in Edge and a slow but sure decrease in the outer ring of ruins of Midgar. All that was left was the main center where the Mako Reactors and Shin-Ra Tower once stood. "As of today we are entering the final phases of Regenesis. It has taken us just over six years but we have made a difference." He waited till the murmurs quieted again before continuing. The designer turned towards the images, a laser pointer in hand as conceptual sketches came up on the screen. "In these final phases, we will be tackling the most daunting projects to date. The complete dismantling of all the old reactors as well as bringing down and clearing away the Tower. Once the Tower is down and all materials have been either reused, or recycled as much as possible, the land will then go through a cycle of further testing. While at this time there is no definitive projects in mind for the use of the land, several ideas have been tossed about, including but not limited to farm and ranch lands, self-sufficient mini-towns or just letting the planet do as it wants with the land." In each of the sketches lower right corner was a Shin-Ra logo, tiny enough that only Reeve saw it due to how close he was. Once the presentation was over with he signaled for the smartboard to be activated as he accepted the control tablet from the aide, Sara.

Standing with his group, Rude's eyebrows had gone up several inches. He'd been aware of the Regenesis projects but this was the first he'd heard about what future the land faced. They were all, to his notion, quite ambitious and had some great possibilities. But first, the land had to be cleared.

Over against the wall the immortal ex-TURK wondered if anyone other than himself, would ever see any of the possible outcomes. He shook his head to rid himself of such morose thoughts. Knowing Reeve, they would.

"At this time, I'm going to take down questions, ideas or thoughts about what we may face," the head of the WRO said as he started a list.

There were plenty of talk amongst the foremans and their assistants or groups.

"Funding?" was the first question asked and noted down.

"Taken care of for the next few years at least," Reeve answered.

"Workers?"

"Each area will have specialists involved, from there the work will flow downward so that even the untrained can assist. Even if it is to just perform manual day labor."

The questions and answers went on for several more minutes before someone brought up the issue of possible mutated monsters living in the ruins. Reeve passed that question onto Vincent.

He moved away from the wall before he spoke. "I will be heading a special unit to deal with the monster population. We will be first in to each new area, clearing the way and making it safe for the workers to do their jobs. This unit will consist of a mix of Guild licensed Monster Hunters, WRO and trained TURKs. I highly discourage anyone from getting the idea that just anyone can go hunting the creatures living in the ruins. Even the best can run afoul of even the lesser monsters." He eyed each and every one of the men and women in the room. His eyes shifted from crimson, to an amber-red then back again. "Even I have had a few run ins with deceptively weak monsters." Most looked away with a shudder, not wanting to be reminded of just what this ageless man was capable of.

Reeve cleared his throat, "Yes.. thank you Vincent..Anymore questions or concerns? No? Good, we'll meet again at the beginning of the week. Have a good day ladies and gentlemen," he said with a smile nodding to his aide as he passed her the tablet and left.

As Rude left he nodded once more, waving goodbye as he vanished out the door. Nothing else was due to be done today so he could head back. Already ideas of how to draw out the target running through his mind that he could discuss with Vincent at a later date.

Once everyone was gone and the room was empty, Vincent pulled a phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. Pressing speed dial, he waited for the other end to be picked up. After the third ring, it was answered. "I have the report, waiting for pick up." He looked out the window at the traffic flowing below.

"Front in five minutes."

"Hnn." He hung up not waiting for a reply as he turned away and left the room. The ride down in the elevator was uneventful, not even one stop to the ground floor. With purposeful strides, he crossed the foyer, exited the front doors to cross the short distance to the curb. Not even slowing, he slid into the open door of the waiting limo. It was only after the vehicle was moving and the signal given that all was secure did he speak. "Tseng."

"Valentine."

"Information exchanged. Here's the report," he reached into his coat and pulled it out to hand over to the Director of the TURKS. "It seems I have an invitation from an old friend to join him for dinner on Saturday.."

Tseng didn't bother reading the report, just tucked it away. "I see. I hope you have a good time and enjoy the meal."


End file.
